*Story by Alex Trevino
WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's soccer team held a decisive edge in shots (18-9) in its home opener, but the Quakers were ultimately unable to break through the Manchester University defense as the game ended in a scoreless draw.
The Quakers played the aggressor from the beginning in this contest, earning a corner kick in the first five minutes and shortly after a shot was sent screaming just high over the crossbar. Despite dominating early possession, Wilmington was unable to finish its many chances. They looked to be the more creative side, and throughout the first half, had several well placed crosses into the box and were just unable to put them in the back of the net. The individual play was also promising as several Quakers were able to make individual forays into the scoring area and take dangerous shots. The theme of coming up just shy of putting the ball in the net, however, continued to halftime.
In the second half, the Manchester defense was pushed to the brink on several occasions, but they refused to break. With just five minutes to go in regulation, Wilmington earned a corner kick and placed a dangerous ball into the box. The Manchester goalkeeper, Adrian DeLeon, was active in goal and proved throughout the night that he was an excellent goalkeeper. In the final two minutes, Wilmington looked to recreate their magic from just two nights prior, but DeLeon made a twisting diving save to preserve the scoreless tie in regulation.
Neither team managed to break the deadlock in overtime, as Manchester was able to put one shot on target in the overtime periods, which was saved by goalkeeper Felix Maurer.
Felix Maurer kept his second clean sheet of the season with three saves. Jeffry Vasquez had two shots on goal with Casey Miller and Yusef Muqtadir each putting one shot on goal.
Wilmington (1-0-1) plays Mount Saint Joseph University (0-2-0) at home Sunday at 3 p.m.
