Posted: Sep 23, 2017
BEREA, Ohio – In a game that featured two different styles of play, the Baldwin Wallace University men's soccer team came out in front of Defiance College for a 3-1 win.
Defiance (4-3-2) was content to hit a lot of long balls and keep BW (4-5) under pressure. As a result, BW struggled to find a rhythm to start the first half.
Sophomore All-Ohio Athletic Conference forward Danny Ruple (Berea/Berea-Midpark) dribbled the ball past two defenders and buried the game's first goal deep into the net in the 29th minute for his seventh goal on the season. BW carried that 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, outshooting Defiance 8-2 in the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Defiance tied the game up at 1-1 in the 49th minute with a goal by senior defender Andrew Brown off a free kick with an assist to freshman midfielder Liam Hall.
Needing to make some adjustments with the game tied, BW was able to neutralize the Defiance attack and rebound to re-take the lead. Freshman midfielder Bryce Posner (Aurora) broke the tie in the 54th minute when he scored off a rebounded shot from sophomore midfielder Timmy Jonas (Fairview Park/St. Edward) that was initially saved by the goalie before the freshman found the back of the net.
Off a free kick in the 58th minute, Jonas played a ball in to Ruple with a short pass. The reigning OAC Men's Soccer Player of the Week saw that the defense was not set up, pushed the attack and played the ball quickly for his second goal of the game to give BW a 3-1 lead. The Yellow Jackets continued to push the attack, getting Defiance on the counterattack and continued to open up scoring opportunities throughout the second half.
In the 78th minute, BW got three good looks with shots from sophomore midfielder Rafael Davalos (Kettering/Alter), sophomore defender Jeffrey Elder-Hoff (Centerville) and Ruple but none of them could sink their shots.
For the game, BW outshout Defiance 22-5 and also held the advantage in corner kicks 12-4, showing that BW was dominating possession in the offensive third and limiting Defiance's own scoring opportunities.
BW will host Grove City (Pa.) College for a non-conference game on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7 pm. inside George Finnie Stadium.
