Staff Report
Senior forward Brian Schaefer (Chatham, N.J.) compiled 2 goals and 2 assists and junior forward Kyle Baum (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) had a goal and 2 assists to help Ohio Wesleyan stay unbeaten in North Coast Athletic Conference competition with a 7-0 win over Wooster on Wednesday at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.
Ohio Wesleyan had some early scoring chances, earning a handful of corner kicks during the first 15 minutes of the game, but the Bishops were not able to put a shot on goal, coming closest when senior back Mason Hoge (Mason) had his header sail over the post in the 15th minute.
Baum put the Bishops on the scoreboard midway through the first half after a Wooster defender played an Ohio Wesleyan throw-in toward the center of the field near the top of the penalty area. Baum won the ball just inside the box and drove a shot past Fighting Scot keeper Daniel Quinn.
Baum set up Ohio Wesleyan’s next goal, sending the ball across the box to senior forward Ricardo Balmaceda (Houston, Texas/The Village School), who shot the ball back toward the left side of the Wooster goal with 17:00 left in the half.
The Bishops increased the lead to 3-0 late in the half when Schaefer played the ball up the right side to senior forward Matt Cohen (Cincinnati/Seven Hills), who made a run into the penalty area and dished across to senior midfielder Lonnie Barnes (Champaign, Ill./Centennial), who finished the chance with 2:34 to play in the period.
Ohio Wesleyan scored exactly 3 minutes into the second half when Hoge headed home a Schaefer corner kick.
Schaefer made it 5-0 in the 62nd minute, fielding a pass from Baum and finding the back of the Fighting Scot net, and just over a minute later, converted a penalty kick for a 6-0 lead.
Junior midfielder Phoenix Neitzelt (Delaware/Hayes) wrapped up the Ohio Wesleyan scoring with a goal off a feed from Cohen in the 72nd minute.
The Bishop defense preserved the shutout by blocking a shot by Wooster’s Zachary Mastrich after senior goalkeeper Michael McDermott (Alliance/Marlington) left his line to challenge the play in the 86th minute. McDermott raced back to the goal line in time for the follow shot by Wooster’s Austin McEathron, which went wide.
“I think we’re playing pretty well now,” said Bishop head coach Jay Martin. “We’ve won four in a row, we haven’t given up a goal, and we’ve scored a ton. This is the right time to do that. Mason (Hoge) has helped us, Kyle (Baum) has helped us, (Brian) Schaefer had a good night, and Lonnie Barnes played really well. We’re starting to cultivate some depth on the team. Allegheny will be a good test on Saturday going into a big week.”
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Wooster, 28-7. Junior Ben Farynowski (Grandview Heights) was not tested during the first 78-plus minutes in the Ohio Wesleyan goal, and McDermott had 1 save during the final 11 minutes. Quinn finished with 7 saves for Wooster.
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OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
