Posted: Oct 20, 2021
WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's soccer team went toe-to-toe with Otterbein University, but the Cardinals came out of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) contest 3-2 at Williams Stadium on Wednesday evening.
The Cardinals, ranked No. 6 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, wasted no time opening the scoring. The visitors took the kickoff and worked the ball down the far side of Williams Stadium. Silver Abraham got to the end line and fed a low cross back into the box that found the feet of Drew Holman 18 seconds in.
Trailing for the second time in as many games at home, the Fightin' Quakers answered five minutes later as a Grant Murray cross from the far side of the field found the head of Michael Owusu, who buried the shot in the upper corner.
Not even 10 minutes into the game, both sides had scored, and the trend of open play would continue the entire first half. In the 12th minute, Quaker goalkeeper Felix Maurer saved a Will Isaac shot, but Gabe Sharrock pounced on the rebound. Fortunately for the host, his shot caromed off the post.
In the 24th minute, it was Wilmington's turn to hit the woodwork. Yusef Muqtadir took a Cardinal defender one-on-one, but his shot with the outside of the foot towards the near post hit said post. The game looked like it would head into halftime tied 1-1, but Otterbein earned a free kick in front of the Wilmington bench in the 42nd minute. Coby Stover sent a low cross towards the near post that missed two onrushing Cardinals, but went off a Quaker defender and into the net.
Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Wilmington took the offensive early in the second half, but couldn't break the Cardinal back line. Midway through the second half, the Cardinals took the control by scoring on another set piece. Nicholas Flury's long throw-in found the head of Gabe Sharrock. His header was saved off the line, but Joshua Conroy was right there to pounce on the loose ball.
Throwing numbers forward in the final seconds, a long cross from Brady Shapiro found the feet of Mitch Solle in the box, who fired a low shot far post to score with two seconds left.
Both teams finished nearly even in shots (19-18) while both goalkeepers faced five shots. The Cardinals did have two other shots on goal with Casey Miller saving both off the line. Felix Maurer took the loss, making two saves in the game while Andrew McIlvoy tallied three saves in the victory.
Sharrock had six of the Cardinals' 18 shots while Owusu and Muqtadir both had three shots for the Quakers.
Wilmington (10-1-3, 3-1-2 OAC) heads to Baldwin Wallace University on Saturday.ay.
