GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's soccer team capped off family weekend at Kenyon with a 3-1 victory over The University of Mount Union. A hard fought match the Owls secured the victory over the neighboring Ohio side, moving to a record of 11-2-0 (4-0-0) on the season.
The first 36 minutes of the match were spirited as both teams began to push for opportunities. Playing with high possession the Owls struck first as freshman winger Luca Bilotto crashed the net delivering a strike to take the lead. Mathis Elisaint took a pass from the top of the 18 dancing his way towards the net delivering a pass across traffic to a perfectly positioned Bilotto.
After pressuring the right back Danny Kankam forced a pass towards the keeper in the 44th minute. Adrian Bondartsov beat the keeper to the ball before being taken to the ground. After VAR a penalty was awarded to the Gambier side. Moustapha Gassama executed an excellent paradinha fooling the keeper to put the Owls up two-nil.
The second half began with a bang for the Owls with a 48th minute finish from Andrew Adams. Joey Nigro put on a dribbling display firing a pass to a waiting Lucas de Alarcon who tapped it back towards the 18. Adams' vision was key as he attacked the de Alarcon pass, firing a missile into the net rewarding his team with a three-nil lead.
Kenyon saw the tide shift as Yeochen Yang was given a straight red card on a goal saving tackle. Unclear initially the call was confirmed after a video review leaving the Owls with 10 men for the last 38 minutes of the contest. Substitutions to bring in Robert Little and Jack Commandeur saw a shift to defensive play.
Only minutes later a bouncing ball in the box created more controversy. Matt Kayser attacked a ball headed towards the net taking out a player in the process. In a day of VAR challenges the Purple Raiders collected a penalty kick on the Kayser challenge. A 55th minute goal for Mount Union completed the scoring for the match.
As the clock ticked into the 87th minute a foul just outside of the box put Kenyon in tough positioning. With an immediate shot on net Matt Kayser reacted quickly to make a save before regaining position for a second save seconds later. Kaysers' defensive effort put the Purple Raiders to rest as the match ended in favor of Kenyon.
The Owls next match takes place at home October 21, against conference rival Denison University.
