ERIE, Pa. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's soccer team dropped its season opener to #20 North Central (Ill.) College by a final score of 3-1in the Herb Lauffer Memorial Tournament.
BW (0-1) brought the sting to the #20 North Central (Ill.) Cardinals (1-0) as they outshot them 13-12.
The first half was made of swift saves. Following the first goal made by North Central (Ill.), sophomore goalie Sam Cipriano (Massillon / Jackson) blocked two of the Cardinal's first three shots in under two minutes. The first period ended with the Yellow Jackets trailing 2-0 after a penalty kick by the Cardinals earlier in the half.
BW put up a fight in the second half as they held the Cardinals to only one goal following a yellow card. Multiple penalties were drawn for both teams in period two, contrary to the first period which contained zero. Senior forward Julian Kieres (Lakewood) saved the day by keeping the Yellow Jackets from a shut out after kicking a goal with 5:13 left in the second period. The BW defense came to Erie (Pa.) with ferocity, but it wasn't enough to defeat the 20th ranked team in Division lll.
In the net for BW, Cipriano (Massillon / Jackson) made two saves on the five shots he faced.
The Yellow Jackets return to action tomorrow, Sept. 2, to face the Alfred (N.Y.) Saxons in the consolation game of the tournament in Behrend Stadium at 5:00 p.m.