Capital 2, Ohio Wesleyan 1

Sept. 10, 2008

Junior back Matt Giannetti (Montclair, N.J.) scored late in the first half to give seventh-ranked Ohio Wesleyan a 1-0 lead, but Capital's Josh Thaboune evened the game with a goal late in regulation time, then scored the game-winner in overtime to lift the Crusaders past the Bishops on Wednesday at Roy Rike Field.

Ohio Wesleyan had the majority of scoring chances during the first half, but Capital goalkeeper John Snyder turned in an outstanding effort in keeping the game scoreless.

Sophomore forward Tyler Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington) had an excellent chance in the 16th minute, taking a crossing pass from junior midfielder Blake Pifer (Fleming/Ada) and firing a quick shot from right in front, but Snyder made the save at point-blank range.

Less than 3 minutes later, Wall was taken down inside the penalty area and awarded a penalty kick, but Snyder again rose to the occasion, stopping Wall's blast to the right side. Junior midfielder Jordan Halloran (Springfield/Catholic Central) jumped on the rebound, but his shot sliced outside the right post.

Late in the half, sophomore midfielder Chad Baker (Dublin/Jerome) made a spectacular play to win the ball in the corner, then centered to sophomore midfielder Ryan Harmanis (Hilliard/Davidson), but Harmanis's shot caromed off a Capital defender.

The Bishops finally broke the scoreless tie when sophomore back Eric Laipple (Westerville/South) sent a restart into the box and Giannetti knocked it home with :16 left in the first half.

Capital turned up the offensive pressure to open the second half and it paid off with a pair of early scoring chances. In the 51st minute, Kevin Doran sent an entry pass to Steven McCarthy, whose redirect was grabbed by freshman goalkeeper Steve Gobel (Wilbraham, Mass./Loomis Chaffee (Conn.)). Less than a minute later, McCarthy had an open look from the left side of the box, but his left-footed blast hit the crossbar. Later, Black took a crossing pass from Thaboune in the 60th minute but sent his shot high.

The Crusaders evened the game when Gobel tried to run down a loose ball in the box, but Steven McCarthy beat him to the ball and crossed it to Thaboune, who headed it inside the left post with 11:47 left in regulation time.

Ohio Wesleyan had the best chance to win in regulation as Wall took a feed from freshman forward Matt Bonfini (Dublin/Coffman) and broke in on Snyder, but Wall's shot was wide.

The Bishops had the first chance in overtime as well, but Giannetti's header off a restart was wide right.

The Crusaders worked the ball the other way, and off Black's throw-in, Thaboune hit a 30-yard shot that skimmed under the crossbar to end the game just over 2 minutes into the overtime period.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Capital, 24-13. Gobel finished with 4 saves in the Ohio Wesleyan goal. Snyder ended up with 12 saves for Capital.

The win was Capital's first over the Bishops. Ohio Wesleyan leads the all-time series, which dates to 1975, by a margin of 18-1.

Box Score