WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's soccer team fell 4-1 to the defending Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion Otterbein University inside Memorial Stadium.
Both teams traded a few shots to begin the first half but it was BW (6-6-1, 1-2 OAC) that got on the scoreboard first in the 23rd minute. After a scary Cardinal (5-4, 2-1 OAC) shot that hit the crossbar in the seventh minute, junior Academic All-OAC forward Joey Geither (Parma/Normandy) and the reigning OAC Forward of the Year, junior two-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Danny Ruple (Berea/Berea-Midpark) connected in the 23rd minute in a reverse of Wednesday night's game-winner against Ohio Northern University. Geither played a through ball into Ruple who finished in the lower left of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead. Otterbein answered the BW goal a few minutes later when Pau Piang beat a defender for the equalizing goal. Each team followed with its own stretch of three consecutive shots but it was the Cardinals that found the back of the net again in the 41st minute to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Otterbein started to control the pace in the second half and began to wear down the Yellow Jacket defense. Although BW had the first look in the period, it was the Cardinals that added to their lead in the 60th minute and concluded the night's scoring nine minutes later en route to a 4-1 victory. The Yellow Jackets fought all the way until the end as Ruple got off two shots in the final minute, one saved and one blocked, while senior forward Logan Davis (Hinckley/Medina Highland) took a corner kick as time expired.
Junior goalkeeper Patrick Mehal (Richfield/Revere) takes the loss as he made just three saves on the seven shots he faced. Otterbein outshot the Yellow Jackets 21-14 and 7-3 in shots on goal. BW did have the advantage in corner kicks, however, taking five to the Cardinals' three.
BW will return home on Wednesday, Oct. 10, to host Heidelberg University in OAC action at 7 p.m. inside George Finnie Stadium.
