WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The eighth-ranked (NSCAA) Kenyon men's soccer team won its third straight season opener on Thursday afternoon as they downed Otterbein University 2-0 at Memorial Stadium.
 
Kenyon dominated on the offensive end out-shooting the Cardinals 23-8 while also holding a 9-2 advantage in corners.
 
Early in the affair, senior Josh Lee nearly gave the Lords a lead as a breakaway near the right wing saw the midfielder just miss a shot as it sailed a narrow distance above the crossbar. About 10 minutes later, Otterbein nearly struck as Juan Rivas' attempt sailed high over senior keeper Sam Clougher.
 
The scoreless tie finally came to an end in the 32nd minute. It started as a long pass got picked up by a Kenyon player, and on the ensuing runout towards the net, a tackle from behind resulted in a red card to Zach Barwick. That penalty brought up sophomore Brice Koval who scored his second collegiate goal on the penalty kick.
 
A 1-0 lead was increased near the end of the first half. After David Kim was fouled along the far sideline, second-year Greg McNeer took the free kick and got it to teammate Henry Myers who headed it home along the left side.
 
That 2-0 lead remained the rest of the match. In the second half, the Lords' defense was superb limiting the Cardinals to just one shot in the 67th minute. Otterbein got just three shots off on goal, all of which were saved by Clougher.
 
Next up for Kenyon is a trip to Heidelberg University on September 4 starting at 2 p.m.