GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the year on their biggest stage to date, falling 2-1 against Ohio Wesleyan University in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. OWU was the only team to walk away from a regular-season matchup against the Owls without a loss as the Battling Bishops played Kenyon to a 0-0 tie on the road before upsetting the regular-season NCAC Champions on their home pitch at Mavec Field.

The first offensive statistic nearly resulted in the game's first goal after Kenyon executed a perfect set piece on a corner kick in the 13th minute. Luke Muther, a senior, took the corner on the right side and expertly read the strong wind on his kick, finding the waiting head of senior Scott Upton. Upton flicked the ball toward the top middle of the goal, but OWU's keeper Mason Taylor leaped up and punched the ball over the crossbar to extinguish the threat.

The Owls' defense had to withstand pressure from the Battling Bishops as the Kenyon offense could not spark a substantial attack, thanks partly to a persistent and gusty wind that stole numerous passes. The Kenyon back line of Aidan Burns, Matt Nguyen, and goalkeeper Jack Pedreschi did their jobs, holding OWU without a shot on goal and conceding just one corner kick.

Senior David McCrory came off the bench in the 37th minute and made an immediate impact. After a Kenyon throw-in, senior Zach Grumbach corralled a ball on the left side before finding a shifty McCrory in the middle of the field just outside the OWU box. From there, McCrory made a nifty touch to find Alem Duratovic in space, and the sophomore made a move, beat a defender, and put Kenyon ahead 1-0 with a goal at the 37:58 mark.

Kenyon's advantage persisted through halftime, but Ohio Wesleyan needed just 37 seconds of second-half play to pull to a draw. The Battling Bishops perfectly played the wind, which was now at their backs, taking a shot from midfield off the second-half kickoff. The attempt was on-target and forced Pedreschi to make a jumping save, giving OWU a corner kick. The visitors' Gabe O'Reilly played the set piece to perfection, finding Parker Cameron's head on the back left corner of the box. The ball was headed across the face of the goal to OWU's Mikey Cockerell, who launched a shot off a Kenyon defender's back and into the net for a game-tying score.

Burns and Mac Nardiello-Smith put shots on goal in the 58th and 59th minutes, but the Battling Bishops added the game's next score. In the 65th minute, Ohio Wesleyan's Mitchell Cosler pushed down the right side of the field and into an opening, finding enough space to cross a ball into Christopher Guerra. Guerra was camped out in the box to the left of Pedreschi, and he had enough room to head the ball into the bottom right corner to give the visitors a 2-1 advantage.

Needing to ignite one of the nation's best offenses, Kenyon subbed in a wave of strikers to put their best offensive lineup on the pitch. The Owls' pressure resulted in a corner kick, but a shot on goal was saved before Kenyon gave the ball away on an offsides call.

Ohio Wesleyan narrowly missed adding to their lead on a counterattack in the 80th minute. The Battling Bishops took advantage of the offense-heavy Owls lineup and had multiple men in the Kenyon box, but a shot missed just high, bouncing off the crossbar and out of play.

The Owls earned a corner kick in the 86th minute after a shot by Sebastian Gaese was blocked, and the Owls had a golden opportunity to even the score on the ensuing attack. A kick from Muther into the box was knocked away by OWU's keeper Taylor, but he found himself on the ground with a loose ball rolling in front of the goal. Kenyon senior Sam Carson fired a shot at the seemingly open goal, but Taylor reached up and secured a save as Carson's shot went right into the keeper's outstretched arms and was deflected away.

Carson, Duratovic, and Max Thesing missed off-target shots over the next two minutes as the OWU defense withstood Kenyon's frantic attempt to tie. Ohio Wesleyan took a shot in the 89th minute that Pedreschi saved, and the sophomore keeper booted the ball downfield to give the Owls a last-ditch attempt at a game-tying goal.

Thesing earned a Kenyon corner kick with about 15 seconds remaining, and the Owls raced to get into position for the game's final set piece. The play unfolded exactly like Kenyon's first corner of the match, with Muther executing a brilliant pass that found the head of Upton on the opposite side of the net. Unfortunately for the Owls, the strong set piece had the same result as before, with Upton's great look on goal being saved by OWU, this time a team save by a Battling Bishops defender that clinched the 2-1 decision and earned Ohio Wesleyan the NCAC Tournament Championship.

A trio of Owls earned a spot on the NCAC All-Tournament team. Senior midfielder Scott Upton, junior defender Aidan Burns, and sophomore midfielder Alem Duratovic received All-Tournament team recognition after helping propel Kenyon to the NCAC Tournament Championship. For his efforts in goal, OWU's Mason Taylor was named the All-Tournament team's most valuable player.

Kenyon finishes their regular season and conference tournament slate having gone 16-1-1 overall and earning an NCAC regular-season title with a 7-0-1 conference record. Despite not earning the automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Men's Soccer Tournament, the Owls, the No. 3-ranked team in the nation, will look forward to the NCAC Tournament selection process as they hope to continue their 2022 campaign on the national stage.