Ohio Wesleyan 2, Hiram 1

Nov. 4, 2009

Senior midfielder Jordan Halloran (Springfield/Catholic Central) and junior midfielder Ryan Harmanis (Hilliard/Davidson) scored to give top-ranked Ohio Wesleyan a 2-0 lead, and the Bishops went on to defeat Hiram in a semifinal contest of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday at Roy Rike Field.

Ohio Wesleyan will host Denison in the tournament championship game at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Roy Rike Field. Ticket prices for NCAC tournament games are $7 for adults, $3 for students with ID, and $3 for children. There will be no re-entry, and no containers are permitted.

The Bishops had the first scoring chances of the game, earning a pair of corner kicks during the opening 10 minutes of play and getting a pair of shots from junior back Eric Laipple (Westerville/South), with Terrier keeper Joe Tatum stopping the second after the first went wide left.

Hiram nearly took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute when David Krems was off on a breakaway, but with freshman goalkeeper Paul Hendricks (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) coming out to challenge the play, Krems sent a shot wide left.

Tatum kept the game scoreless again in the 18th minute, stopping a shot by sophomore forward Matt Bonfini (Dublin/Coffman), then blocking a shot from point-blank range by sophomore forward Dylan Stone (Easton, Conn./Barlow) on the rebound.

The Terriers countered, and after a Hiram corner kick in the 19th minute, the Bishops were called for a hand ball in the penalty area. Nick Gdanetz stepped up to take the penalty kick, but he sent his drive wide left and the game remained deadlocked at 0-0.

Ohio Wesleyan had another chance midway through the half when sophomore forward Matt Bonfini (Dublin/Coffman) played the ball to sophomore midfielder Travis Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington), who fed junior forward Tyler Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington) on the left side, but Tatum deflected Tyler Wall's shot.

Hiram had another breakaway in the 32nd minute, but Hendricks again broke up the play, this time getting a piece of Cole Miller's shot.

The Bishops took the lead early in the second half when senior midfielder Blake Pifer (Ada/Fleming) set Tyler Wall free on a breakaway. Tatum was able to stop Wall's shot, but Halloran followed the play and scored on the putback for a 1-0 Ohio Wesleyan lead in the 53rd minute.

Ohio Wesleyan added to its lead in the 64th minute when senior forward Eric Francis (Alliance/Marlington) sent the ball to Harmanis, who finished inside the right post to make it 2-0.

Tyler Wall had a look at making it 3-0, but Tatum made the save on a breakaway to keep the Terriers in the game.

Hiram got on the scoreboard when Petar Knezevic sent the ball from the right side to the middle, where Ryan Minick got off a shot that brought the Terriers within 2-1 in the 74th minute. The goal was the first allowed by the Bishops in nearly a month, and just the third surrendered by Ohio Wesleyan this season.

Knezevic had a brief look at the Bishop goal in the 81st minute, but his shot sailed over the crossbar. The Terriers challenged in the final minutes, but only Jonathan Rosek's shot found its way on goal, and Hendricks was there to deflect that with :17 to play, sealing the win.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Hiram, 27-14. Hendricks finished with 6 saves in the Bishop goal, while Tatum had 13 saves for the Terriers.

Box Score