NCAC Weekly Release (10-29-12) - Men's Soccer

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Ohio Wesleyan (7-1-1, 13-2-3) earned its fifth-straight North Coast championship with a pair of wins last week. The Battling Bishops defeated Kenyon, 2-0, and Denison, 2-1, to collect their league-leading 21st conference title. Kenyon has won the second most conference crowns with six, followed by Wooster (3), Denison (2) and Wittenberg (1).

The Battling Bishops enter the NCAC Tournament as the top seed and will host fourth-seeded Kenyon (5-2-2, 9-6-2) on Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m. in a re-match of last weeks contest that saw OWU come away with a 2-0 victory. Second-seeded DePauw (6-1-2, 12-1-4) will host third-seeded Hiram (6-2-1, 15-2-1) in the other semifinal match at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Since joining the NCAC last year, the DPU Tigers are a perfect 3-0 against the Terriers with three one-goal victories including a 2-1 OT in last years NCAC Tournament Semifinal. The championship game is set for Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round.

Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament ... DePauw returns to its second straight tournament as the defending champions after the Tigers knocked off Ohio Wesleyan in last years title game 4-2 ... Ohio Wesleyan, which owns eight NCAC tournament titles, is the only member school that has competed in every tournament since its inaugural year in 2000 ... Hiram earned a berth in the field of four for the second straight year and fourth all time, while Kenyon  returns to the tournament for the fourth time in five years and its sixth appearance all time

ALLEGHENY went 0-2-0 last week, dropping its final two matches of the season against Oberlin and DePauw. Senior defenseman Joe Caruso (Pittsburgh, PA/Chartiers Valley) scored the lone goal for the Gators this week, scoring in the 77th minute of a 4-1 road loss to DePauw on Saturday. Oberlin shocked the Gators at home, 1-0, on Wednesday.

DENISON dropped its season finale at nationally-ranked Ohio Wesleyan on Friday in Delaware, Ohio. Sophomore Corey Ricketts (Chagrin Falls, OH/Chagrin Falls) put the Big Red on top in the 69th minute, while junior keeper Matt Wagner (Nicholasville, KY/Lexington Catholic) logged six saves in 90 minutes.

DEPAUW completed its home slate of the 2012 regular season this past week with a 4-1 victory over Allegheny. So far this season, the Tigers sport an undefeated 6-0-3 record at Boswell Field. Goal scorers against the Gators included Dean Weaver (Carmel, IN/Carmel), Adrian Ables (Midwest City, OK/Midwest City), George Elliott (Naperville, IL/Benet Academy) and Andy Morrison (Bristol, IN/Northridge). Tigers head coach Brad Hauter notched the 260th win in his collegiate soccer coaching career, sporting a .651 winning percentage in the process. The Tigers have posted 31 consecutive .500 or better seasons.

HIRAM closed out the 2012 regular season strong with a pair of shutout league victories over Wooster, 2-0, and Wabash, 3-0. The Terriers earned the third seed in the NCAC Tournament and will face DePauw.

KENYON was defeated 2-0 at home by nationally-ranked Ohio Wesleyan, but bounced back with a convincing 4-0 road win at Wittenberg to claim the fourth and final spot in the NCAC postseason tournament.

Despite narrowly missing out on the NCAC Tournament, OBERLIN ended its season on a high-note by defeating Allegheny, 1-0, before outlasting Wooster 2-1 in its season final. Senior Matt Capozzi (Gaithersburg, MD/Poolesville) netted the game-winning goals in both contests.

Sophomore midfielder Colton Bloecher (Lewis Center, OH/Olentangy Orange) scored the game-winning goal with :02.1 left in regulation time to give 23rd-ranked OHIO WESLEYAN a come-from-behind win over Denison in NCAC action. The win clinched the NCAC championship for Ohio Wesleyan. The NCAC title is Ohio Wesleyan’s fifth straight, eighth in the last nine years, and 21st overall in the 29 seasons of NCAC competition.

WABASH snapped a string of three consecutive overtime losses with a 2-0 victory at Wittenberg Wednesday evening. Blake Jennings (Noblesville, IN/Noblesville) and Ethan Dove (Noblesville, IN/Noblesville) each tallied goals in the victory. Jennings’ goal was his team-leading fifth of the season and third game-winning goal. Matt Paul (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington North) recorded his third shutout of the year and 11th of his career. Paul ends his four-year career as the all-time Wabash College leader in goals-against-average with a mark of 1.45.

WITTENBERG dropped two games this week to close the season, falling by a 2-0 score to Wabash and a 4-0 mark against Kenyon. The Tigers were led by seven shots from sophomore Reed Glosser (Toledo, OH/Ottawa Hills).

WOOSTER saw its season come to an end with a pair of league losses against Hiram, 2-0, and Oberlin, 2-1.