BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's soccer team forced overtime against Ohio Athletic Conference and crosstown rival John Carroll University during an 0-2 week. 

Week in Review

-The reigning OAC Forward of the Year, junior two-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Danny Ruple (Berea/Berea-Midpark) scored both goals in the 3-2 overtime loss to John Carroll, including the late 82nd-minute goal to force overtime against the OAC-leading Blue Streaks

-Ruple leads the OAC in shots taken (79), is second in assists (9) and points (37) and is third in goals (14)

-Junior Academic All-OAC forward Joey Geither (Parma/Normandy) is tied for fifth in the conference with six assists

-Junior midfielder Kurt Raney (Mentor) is second in the OAC with 63 shots

-Junior goalkeeper Patrick Mehal (Richfield/Revere) is fifth in the OAC with 54 saves on the season

-Head Coach Reid Ayers' take: "We played fabulous against John Carroll. It was one of our better performances in the last couple of years. I continue to be impressed with our young guys. There are five speeds to a season and, when we made the jump to conference play, the team dealt with it well. Now the game is in a desperation phase and there is another gear, another level, of energy and commitment. We need to get the rest of the group to respond to that." 

Up Next

-BW will face the University of Mount Union and Marietta College in the final week of the regular season with a playoff spot on the line. "There are realistically nine teams that can make the postseason," Ayers said. "That's not a stretch. The quality from top to bottom in the OAC is as demanding as it's been since I've been here at BW."

-Wednesday, Oct. 24 at Mount Union (10-3-1, 3-3-1 OAC)-> Mount Union had a strong start to the 2018 campaign, achieving a national ranking from the United Soccer Coaches as high as No. 13 after posting eight straight shutouts to start the year.

-Saturday, Oct. 27, vs. Marietta (8-8, 2-5 OAC)-> In 2017, BW opened OAC action with a 5-2 loss to Marietta and looks to rewrite the script this season. 

-Focus for the week: Finishing games and finding ways to win. "We're banking on having our players build on the experience they've gained this year," Ayers said. "We've proven this year that we can play with some of the best teams in the region but we've also proven that sometimes our confidence and our mentality gets dented. We've given up goals in bunches at times so we need to be more organized and capable of shutting teams down."