Ohio Wesleyan Wins NCAC Championship
Senior forward Travis Wall scored the game-winning goal in the seventh minute, and the Bishop defense took over from there as sixth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan sealed the North Coast Athletic Conference championship with a victory over Allegheny on Saturday at Roy Rike Field.
With the win, Ohio Wesleyan clinches the NCAC championship. The NCAC title is Ohio Wesleyan's fourth straight, seventh in the last 8 years, and 20th overall in the 28 seasons of NCAC competition.
Ohio Wesleyan will be the No. 1 seed in next week's NCAC tournament, and will open tournament play with a rematch against Allegheny at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
The win also extended Ohio Wesleyan's unbeaten streak in NCAC games to a conference-record 40.
The Bishops took the lead when Wall and sophomore back Ben Witkoff ran a give-and-go in the penalty area, with Wall receiving the return pass and slipping a shot into the back of the Gator net.
Ohio Wesleyan enjoyed a 16-2 advantage in shots and a 5-1 edge in corner kicks during the first half, but the Bishops were not able to parlay those into additional goals.
Allegheny applied more pressure early in the second half, most notably during a 3-minute stretch beginning in the 55th minute. After a Gator corner kick, Brian Graham sent a header toward the left post, but it was cleared off the line by senior midfielder Dylan Stone to preserve the lead. During the next 2 minutes, Tyler Danzey put a pair of shots on goal, but both were snared by junior goalkeeper Paul Hendricks.
The Gators challenged in the final minute as well, earning a pair of corner kicks, but Andrew Zimmer's header just before the final horn went wide.
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Allegheny, 38-8. Hendricks posted 2 saves in the Ohio Wesleyan goal. John Lichina made 8 saves for the Gators.
