CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind.-- Playing for the penultimate time this regular season, the Kenyon College men's soccer team secured its fourth straight shutout down the home stretch. The Owls made their way to Wabash College to take on the Little Giants, and the No. 15-ranked Owls paired dominant defense with a timely goal to earn the 1-0 victory.

Kenyon continued its push towards the postseason with a fourth straight win, improving to 11-2-3 overall and 5-2-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) play. The victory pushed the Owls into second place in the NCAC standings, with more games remaining on Saturday's slate. Though Kenyon would love to secure one of the top two seeds and host an NCAC Tournament match, the team has at least clinched a spot in the four-team conference postseason playoff. On the other side, Wabash fell to 9-5-2 overall, and the Little Giants are fighting for the fourth playoff spot with a fifth-place, 2-3-1 NCAC record at game's end.

The Owls faced few threats over the first half, holding the home team without a shot or corner kick. Despite the defensive efforts and dominating possession, Kenyon could not break through on the other end. The Owls had six first-half shots, and three were on target, but Wabash's Fernando Ramos kept a clean sheet through 45 minutes.

The second half started with three off-target Owls shots over the first couple of minutes, including two dangerous looks from Gerardo Martinez, including a header in the 47th minute that sailed just wide. Though Kenyon came out firing, Wabash narrowly missed out on the game's first goal on the team's first shot. Jose Escalante escalated a shot toward the top of Kenyon's goal, and the ball rocketed over the outstretched hands of Jack Pedreschi and off the crossbar. Pedreschi could not corral the bounce off the top woodwork, but the senior and the Owls benefitted from a fortuitous bounce as the ball took a right turn out of bounds instead of dropping into the left side of the post for a goal.

After the close call, the Owls had two good looks of their own. The first came from Moustapha Gassama, a low shot that was saved, and the second was a great attempt from Martinez that barely missed the goal and hit the crossbar.

In the 77th minute, Kenyon finally broke through. A Wabash foul set the Owls up with a free kick from the corner, where Martinez set up to send a ball towards the goal. The senior lofted the ball towards the near post, where his classmate Eamon Dujakovich was waiting to head in the go-ahead goal. Martinez's assist was his team-leading fifth helper, while the goal was Dujakovich's fourth. 

The Little Giants pushed for an equalizer and kept testing Kenyon's defense until the end with two shots and a corner kick over the final two minutes, but Pedrecshi and the Owls stood firm to secure the 1-0 shutout.

Kenyon has one more regular-season game on deck as the Owls will head to Oberlin, Ohio, to take on Oberlin College at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 30.