Shadoan, Stone Spark Ohio Wesleyan

Sophomore midfielder Matt Shadoan and senior midfielder Dylan Stone scored goals 90 seconds apart to break a 1-1 tie and send fifth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan on its way to a win over Allegheny in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal contest on Wednesday at Roy Rike Field.

Ohio Wesleyan will host second-seeded DePauw, a 2-1 winner over Hiram in overtime on Wednesday, in the NCAC tournament championship game at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Bishops raced to a 1-0 lead as sophomore midfielder Jon Stegner sent a through ball that freed senior forward Travis Wall on a breakaway, with Wall getting a shot past Gator keeper John Lichina in the seventh minute.

Allegheny evened the score in the 18th minute. The Gators had earned a corner kick, and Matt Weintraub sent the ball into the penalty area. Timothy Egan headed the ball toward the goal line, and Andrew Miller tipped it past junior goalkeeper Paul Hendricks for the equalizer.

The Gators had a chance to break the tie early in the second half when David DelGreco jumped on a Bishop turnover near the midfield stripe and broke in on Hendricks, only to see Hendricks smother the shot to keep the game even.

Less than 30 seconds later, it was the Bishops' turn as freshman midfielder Colton Bloecher had a good look from the top of the box after a centering pass from Wall, but Lichina came up with the save.

Bloecher would have more success on his next opportunity, chipping the ball over the Gator defense to Shadoan, who broke in and finished the chance to give the Bishops a 2-1 lead in the 55th minute.

Less than a minute later, Stone had an opportunity to give Ohio Wesleyan a 3-1 lead when Allegheny was called for a hand ball inside the penalty area, giving the Bishops a penalty kick. Lichina guessed correctly, however, making a stop near the post, and the Gators dodged a bullet on the ensuing corner kick when Wall's header hit the crossbar.

Stone would have more success on his next chance as well, when a shot by sophomore back Peter Jacobi hit the post, and Stone was there to knock home the rebound for a 3-1 lead in the 56th minute.

Senior forward Tyler Bryant finished up the scoring with a goal in the closing minutes, with a Bloecher centering pass setting up the play.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Allegheny, 25-10. Hendricks posted 1 save in the Ohio Wesleyan goal. Lichina finished with 5 saves for the Gators.