Stone, Wall Lift Ohio Wesleyan Over Capital
Senior midfielder Dylan Stone and senior forward Travis Wall scored goals to give 12th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan a 2-0 non-conference win over Capital on Saturday at Roy Rike Field.
The Crusaders played conservatively during the first half, rarely venturing into the Ohio Wesleyan end of the field.
Ohio Wesleyan did muster up some scoring changes against the concentrated Crusader defense, most notably in the 11th minute, when Wall's shot from the middle of the field was snared by Capital keeper Bob Weisgarber, and in the 18th minute, when Wall centered the ball from the left side to sophomore midfielder Jon Stegner, whose sliding shot was snared by Weisgarber at point-blank range.
After going through the first half without a shot, Capital came out aggressively in the second half, getting a shot from Nick Eley in the opening seconds of the period and nearly taking the lead a minute later when Tim Reiser got a foot on a loose ball in the penalty area only to see the Bishop defense clear the ball off the goal line.
The Bishops countered with threats in the 51st minute, when Wall's header off a crossing pass was grabbed by Weisgarber, and in the 59th minute, when Weisgarber tipped away a shot by senior forward Matt Bonfini.
On the ensuing corner, Stone and sophomore midfielder Matt Shadoan ran a give-and-go, with Stone receiving the return pass and hitting what appeared to be a crossing pass toward the far post, but the ball hooked inside the post and into the side of the net to put the Bishops on the scoreboard.
Wall provided some insurance in the 68th minute, fielding a centering pass from senior forward Tyler Bryant and blasting a shot from short range into the right side of the Crusader goal.
The Crusaders had a chance in the 80th minute, but Tim McCarthy's shot from the right side skipped across the goal mouth.
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Capital, 36-5. Junior Paul Hendricks had 2 saves in posting the shutout in the Ohio Wesleyan goal. Weisgarber finished with 8 saves in the Crusader goal.
