Ohio Wesleyan 3, Hiram 1

Oct. 23, 2007

Freshman forward Tyler Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington) scored 2 goals and senior midfielder Nick Skoczen (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) set up 2 goals as Ohio Wesleyan defeated Hiram in North Coast Athletic Conference play on Tuesday at The Wellington School in Columbus.

The game was originally scheduled to be played at Roy Rike Field but was moved because torrential rain in Delaware left standing water on the field.

The majority of play in the opening moments of the game occurred in the midfield. Ohio Wesleyan had the first good chance, when freshman back Brian Greene (Beavercreek) had his header off a restart saved by Terrier keeper Nate Rausch.

The Bishops took advantage of their second chance, however, when freshman back Eric Laipple (Westerville/South) sent a restart into the box and Wall headed it past Rausch in the 14th minute.

Hiram's best chance of the first half came in the 29th minute, when Nick Gdanetz went up for a header in front of the Bishop goal, but senior goalkeeper Jamison Dague (Bexley) leaped high to snare the ball.

Rausch kept the margin at 1-0, stopping Skoczen twice in the closing minutes of the half, first on a shot from the right side after Skoczen ran into the box, and then on a 20-yard restart from the left side.

Hiram nearly tied the game in the 50th minute, when Philip Major got his head on a restart from about 30 yards out only to see the ball hit the crossbar. The Terriers came close again in the 57th minute as Branko Bukvic ripped a shot from the top of the box that went just outside the right post.

Just over 2 minutes later, the Terriers had the ball inside the Ohio Wesleyan penalty area when a Bishop defender was called for a hand ball, and Matt Urban converted the penalty kick to tie the game at 1-1.

Ohio Wesleyan took the lead for good in the 68th minute. Skoczen sent the ball up the left side to Wall, who was steaming upfield into the Hiram end. Terrier keeper Joe Tatum came far out of the box to try to beat Wall to the ball, but Wall got there first and squeezed off a shot just before colliding head-on with the onrushing Tatum. Wall's shot found the Hiram net, giving the Bishops a 2-1 lead with 22:04 left in regulation time.

Hiram had a couple of chances to tie the game, but Major's header in the 78th minute was high, and Urban sent a 25-yard shot off a restart just wide of the Bishop goal in the 84th minute.

The Bishops got some breathing room in the 89th minute when Skoczen won the ball in the Hiram end, then passed it to freshman midfielder Chad Baker (Dublin/Jerome), who hit the shot for the 3-1 final.

Both teams collected 12 shots. Dague finished with 1 save for Ohio Wesleyan, while Rausch had 5 saves and Tatum had 3 saves for the Terriers.

Box Score