GAMBIER, Ohio – If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. This timeless sport idiom holds true this weekend when the Kenyon College men's soccer team vies for its first North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship against the nation's No. 1 team, Ohio Wesleyan University. The two teams will touch it up this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the championship match of the conference tournament at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.
The road has been long and grueling for the Lords who defeated No. 3-seeded Oberlin College, 1-0, in a physical bout that also had outside influence from the elements this past Wednesday. Now Kenyon (14-3-3), the tournament's No. 2 seed, has to revisit a team it is all too familiar with for a chance not just for their first conference tournament championship, but assured passage to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lords, in fact, have played Oberlin twice in the last two weeks and both matches gave Kenyon a true test of endurance. In their debut bout both teams traded blows in a physical, scoreless draw. With no movement in the conference standings after the regular season finale, the two lined up once again in the first round of the NCAC Tournament. The rematch proved very similar to their previous meeting, though Kenyon's Jeremiah Barnes ripped the game's lone score in the first half. The Lords rode that wave and controlled possession for much of the match, leading to a 1-0 win and advancing to the championship round.
Ohio Wesleyan (18-0-3) reclaimed its spot atop the national rankings after spending a week as the No. 2 team the week prior. In the Battling Bishops' first tournament match, they locked horns with another previously nationally-ranked team, DePauw University. Ohio Wesleyan was just 15 minutes away from taking a win away in regulation, but allowed a goal in the 79th minute that forced overtime. Not even through two extra frames could a winner be determined, so the teams turned to penalty kicks to see who would be contending for a conference title. Through five penalty kicks taken on each side, there still was no separation until DePauw's sixth player stepped to the line and rattled the left post with his attempt. That left an open door for the Bishops to walk through. Ohio Wesleyan remained perfect on penalty kicks and took away the win, 6-5, setting up their matchup with the Lords.
The Lords and Bishops met in Delaware, Ohio on Oct. 22 where the game ended in a 1-1 draw. It was one of only three times the Bishops did not collect a win this season. Andrew Parmelee and OWU's leading scorer, Colton Bloecher, put together goals for their respective teams. Kenyon possessed an advantage in the first half by taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room and outshooting Ohio Wesleyan 6-3, but the Bishops took control in the second half with their goal in the 78th minute. They also outshot Kenyon 12-4 in the second half and held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Tony Amolo nearly put Kenyon up one goal just minutes after OWU tied it up, but his shot on an unprotected net sailed wide. Both overtimes proved ineffective in deciding a winner, leading to a draw.
No stranger to one another in tournament play, it was just last season that the Lords were on the wrong end of a decision determined by penalty kicks. In the first round of the 2012 NCAC Tournament both teams went scoreless through 110 minutes of action. The only scoring was done on penalty kicks which OWU, then ranked 19th in the country, won 3-2.
The last time the Lords defeated Ohio Wesleyan was in the 2007 season when the Lords went to Delaware and stole a 1-0 win.
The Bishops are paced by their main offensive weapon, Bloecher, who's scored 12 goals and added four assists. Brian Schaefer follows closely behind with 11 goals and five assists. Each has four game-winners. Together, they sit in fourth and fifth overall in the NCAC for goals scored. Between the pipes for the Bishops is Colin Beemiller who has allowed just 15 goals in 21 games played, good for a goals-against average of 0.71, which is tied for tops in the conference with Kenyon keeper, Sam Clougher.
With Pamelee nursing an injury, the Lords will rely on their leading scorers Tony Amolo (10g, 7a) and Rei Mitsuyama (6g, 5a) for some offensive production. Jordan Glassman and Alistair Flynn have combined for 11 goals and seven assists over the course of the season and are very viable candidates to get into the score sheet, as well. The Lords have 14 different players who have scored at least one goal this year and four more that have at least one point, proving offense can come from just about anywhere on their roster.
As always, Clougher will be asked to keep the cage clean for the Lords. He has had a phenomenal freshman campaign, collecting seven shutouts and allowing just 13 goals in 19 games. He has a season save percentage of .783, good for fourth in the NCAC.
Live stats and live video will be provided, courtesy of Ohio Wesleyan.
