Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Otterbein 0

Senior back Kit North (Powell/Bishop Watterson), junior midfielder Paolo Bucci (Dublin/Bishop Watterson), and freshman midfielder Brian Schaefer (Chatham, N.J.) scored goals to lift 23rd-ranked Ohio Wesleyan over Otterbein in non-conference action on Wednesday at Roy Rike Field.

North staked the Bishops to a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute.  Ohio Wesleyan had earned a corner kick, and Bucci fielded a short corner and drove the right end line before centering the ball to an onrushing North, who tipped it into the right side of the Cardinal goal.

It was Bucci on the receiving end of a centering pass for the Bishops' second goal.  Sophomore midfielder Colton Bloecher (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) crossed the ball from the left side to Bucci on the right side, and the Bishop midfielder finished the chance to make it 2-0 in the 27th minute.

Ohio Wesleyan nearly increased its lead just over 2 minutes later when a shot by junior midfielder Jon Stegner (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) hit the right post.

The frame of the goal was more friendly to the Bishops in the 38th minute, when Schaefer's hard shot from the top of the box scraped the bottom of the crossbar and went in, giving Ohio Wesleyan a 3-0 lead.

Otterbein keeper Kyle Ripma kept the Cardinals in the game, stopping shots by junior midfielder Jacob Eganhouse (Westerville/St. Francis DeSales) and sophomore back Mason Hoge (Mason) in the waning minutes of the first half, then making saves on penalty kicks by Stegner and Eganhouse during the second half.

"This was a good game for us at this point of the season," said Ohio Wesleyan head coach Jay Martin.  "Everyone got playing time, and that is good for team morale.  We weren't concerned with the score, but with guys getting in and doing the right things."

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Otterbein, 33-10.  Senior Paul Hendricks (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) and sophomore Colin Beemiller (Pickerington/North) split the shutout in the Ohio Wesleyan goal, each making 2 saves in a half of action.  Ripma finished with 9 saves in the Cardinal goal.

Box Score