*Story by Alex Trevino
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's soccer team scored two goals in the second half to defeat the Wittenberg University Tigers by a final score of 2-0 on Monday evening.
The first half did not have any action on the scoreline although there was plenty of action on the pitch. The Quakers seemed to be the more disciplined side as they frustrated Wittenberg with pin-point passing and patience. The Quakers had 11 fouls in the first half as the Tigers tallied 10 of their own fouls. Wittenberg committed two clear penalties in the first half resulting in yellow cards for Mustapha Kinteh and Marcus Orton.
The second half began and it quickly became apparent that halftime did little to reign in the physical play. Wittenberg's Jackson Miller picked up a yellow card three minutes into the second half. Shortly afterwards, Alfie Harris opened up the scoring for the game with his first goal of the season giving the Quakers a 1-0 lead. A chippy seven minutes of play followed and resulted in a yellow card for Elorm Dogbey and Harris as well as a yellow card for Cameron Elliot.
Wilmington kept a calm and clinical air as it continued to dominate possession to the Tigers growing frustrations. In the 80th minute, Jackson Miller would recieve his second yellow card of the match and be dismissed. Playing a man down Wittenberg quickly conceded a goal to Grant Murray which put the game out of reach. Kyler Hagstrom picked up the final yellow card for the Tigers in the 86' minute.
The Quakers outshot the Tigers by 12 by the matches end despite being outshot in the first half. Wilmington held a marked advantage in corner kicks at 9-3. Notably the final goal scored by Wilmington was on the Quakers third corner kick in less than a minute. Harris and Murray each scored their first goal of the season for Wilmington. Freshman Thomas Grimes secured his first clean sheat in his collegiate career and his second career victory.
Wilmington (2-1-0) hosts Defiance College for a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday evening.
