Box Score Ohio Wesleyan 2, Kenyon 0Junior midfielder Brian Schaefer (Chatham, N.J.) and junior midfielder Gunnar Bloecher (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) scored goals and the Ohio Wesleyan defense kept the Kenyon offense in check as the 14th-ranked Bishops defeated the sixth-ranked Lords in a sectional semifinal contest of the NCAA Division III tournament on Sunday at Kenyon College in Gambier.
Ohio Wesleyan will face Christopher Newport (Va.), a 3-2 winner over Whitworth (Wash.) in Sunday's first game, in a national quarterfinal contest at 1 p.m. on Monday at Kenyon. The winner of Monday's national quarterfinal game will advance to the national semifinals, to be played on Friday, Dec. 5, at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Mo.
Senior forward Taylor Rieger (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) had the first dangerous chance of the game, winning a loose ball and firing a 20-yard shot that Kenyon keeper Sam Clougher stopped.
Clougher made another save in the 18th minute on a shot by junior midfielder Lonnie Barnes (Champaign, Ill./Centennial).
Kenyon came close to taking the lead in the 23rd minute when Woo Jeon's shot hit the post, and a follow shot by Tony Amolo was wide of the goal.
A minute later, senior forward Colton Bloecher (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange) was fouled inside the Kenyon penalty area, and Schaefer stepped to the spot and converted the ensuing penalty kick to give Ohio Wesleyan a 1-0 lead.
The Bishops added to the lead late in the first half when freshman midfielder David Robinett (Cincinnati/Indian Hill) sent the ball ahead to Gunnar Bloecher, who made a run on Clougher and zipped a shot past the Kenyon netminder with 2:44 left in the period.
Kenyon opened the second half by turning up the pressure on the Bishop goal, and the move nearly paid off when Amolo put a free kick on goal, only to have senior goalkeeper Colin Beemiller (Pickerington/North) make the save. Amolo's header on the ensuing corner kick sailed high.
Kenyon's Rei Mitsuyama got off a shot in the 58th minute, but Beemiller was again there for the save.
Junior back Matt DiCesare (Westerville/St. Francis DeSales) had a look in the 70th minute, but Clougher recorded the save to keep it a 2-0 game.
Amolo sent a shot across the goal mouth in the 73rd minute, and the Bishop defense broke up the ensuing corner kick without incident.
In the 84th minute, the Lords had a restart near midfield and Jeon got his head on the serve into the box, but Beemiller made the save to preserve the shutout, and Beemiller snared a shot by Edgar Arceo in the 89th minute to effectively seal the outcome.
"This was a great result for us," said Bishop head coach Jay Martin. "The guys were looking forward to playing Kenyon, which might sound strange after a loss and a tie (in this season's previous meetings). I thought we played very well in the first two games but we didn't get any breaks. Today we got some breaks.
"Colin (Beemiller) played brilliantly in goal, and Evan (Lee) was fantastic at center back. To shut them out on their home field, that's tough to do."
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Kenyon, 21-12. Beemiller recorded 4 saves in the Ohio Wesleyan goal. Clougher finished with 6 saves for Kenyon.
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