BEREA, Ohio - The Baldwin Wallace University men's soccer team finished off the 2018 season with an overall record of 7-10-2 and a mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference of 2-6-1.
By the Numbers
-BW scored 43 goals on 322 shots for an average of 2.26 goals per game and was only held scoreless in one game all season
-The Yellow Jackets notched three shutouts in a four-game span from Wednesday, Oct. 3 to Saturday, Oct. 13 and went a total of 261:51 minutes without allowing a goal in the middle of OAC play
-A 1-0 victory over Ohio Northern University on Oct. 3 marked the first time BW defeated the Polar Bears since 2014, also snapping ONU's seven-game winning streak and 400+ minute goal-less streak
-The reigning OAC Forward of the Year, junior two-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Danny Ruple (Berea/Berea-Midpark), broke the school's all-time scoring record with his first goal in an 8-0 win over Muskingum University on Oct. 13
-Fifteen players recorded at least one point for the Yellow Jackets this season
-Ruple led the OAC in shots taken (85), finished second in assists (10) and points (38) and took third in goals (14)
-Junior Academic All-OAC forward Joey Geither (Parma/Normandy) tied for fourth in the conference with his six assists
-Junior midfielder Kurt Raney (Mentor) was second in the OAC with 68 shots taken
-Junior goalkeeper Patrick Mehal (Richfield/Revere) made a team-leading 59 saves to finish fifth in the OAC
-Head coach Reid Ayers' take: "I love the culture of our team. They followed our core values and the concepts of a deliberate practice, setting lofty goals and a growth mindset by demonstrating a lot of grit and determination. That part of the year was an area where we grew and got significantly better at. It's going to be interesting to see in the offseason who continues to apply those values and elevates their game. I was very pleased with the leadership we had from the seniors and I was very impressed by our young guys. We threw them into the fire and they did very well."
Looking Ahead
-Every three years, the team takes a spring trip so, in 2019, the team will head to Costa Rica. "We'll get to play some high-level soccer and expose players to different cultures," Ayers explained. "It will be a time of incredible team building as well as a personal growth period."
-BW returns four of its top six scorers next season in Ruple, Geither, junior Academic All-OAC forward Cannon Dees (Berea/Berea-Midpark) and sophomore midfielder Bryce Posner (Aurora) who accounted for a total of 27 goals, 24 assists and 78 points
-Ayers said, "We have some talented individuals and a good nucleus returning. Getting better every day is a matter of theme for our team. That starts now as we begin building for 2019. For the program to move forward, we have to find a way to clean up restarts. Not being able to defend restarts was our Achilles' heel all year so we need to take a hard look at that and get better in organization and mindset to defend those. We also need to convert more of our possessions into goals. We created a lot of great chances and did some good things on the ball but I don't know if we got the payout. Saves by the opponent are going to happen just like we expect our goalie to come up with the save but the number of times we hit the post and crossbar this year were shocking. Defensively, we just need to continue to get much stronger individually and collectively. The future is bright, I like that part."
