After a win over Thomas More College earlier in the week, the DePauw University men’s soccer team topped the #2 ranked team in the nation, Kenyon College.
The week started with a tough match against visiting Thomas More. The Tigers came into the match with a record of 4-2-2 while their opponents had a record of 5-5.
DePauw dominated the match from the beginning, but struggled to find the back of the net, despite out shooting Thomas More 13-1. It would take 89 minutes and 59 seconds until that changed.
The Tigers earned a corner kick with five seconds left to play. After bouncing around the box, the ball fell to senior midfielder EJ Moore who buried it into the side netting with just one second left.
After a dispute from Thomas More coaches and players, the referees determined there was still a tenth of a second left to play. Luckily, one touch of the ball from the kick off and the clock ran out.
The 1-0 win moved the Tigers to 5-2-2 on the year and gained a lot of momentum leading to their match on Saturday against #2 ranked team in the nation, Kenyon College.
The Tigers got the first goal of the game off a free kick from Moore in the 33rd minute. He scored his 3rd goal of the season when his free kick looped over the wall and glided past the diving goalkeeper. Moore’s goal gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
DePauw would double their lead in the 72nd minute when senior forward Jay Wheeler put his defender on skates, beating him and sending the ball into the back of the net. It was Wheeler’s first goal of the season.
The Tigers held the 2-0 lead for about six minutes when Kenyon scored a scrappy goal inside the box.
DePauw would spend the rest of the match defending waves of Kenyon attacks. Senior goalkeeper Harrison Glover played a vital role in the Tigers victory recording eight saves on the day.
DePauw made the most of their offensive opportunities being outshot 17-9 by the Lords. Kenyon committed 20 fouls to DePauw’s 10, despite the Tigers receiving five yellow cards including one given to a player on the bench.
The win was the Tigers’ second upset over a top-ranked Kenyon team in as many years. DePauw beat Kenyon 1-0 in overtime last year.
“100% the atmosphere helped,” said Coach Hauter of the packed stands at Reavis Stadium. “The energy and emotion from the stands lifted us all. You could feel it.”
“One loss against Oberlin won’t break our season and one win against a top ranked team like Kenyon won’t make our season,” said Wheeler. “If anything our first two conference games let us know that we can compete and win against any team in the country while still keeping in mind that if we aren’t entirely locked in for the full 90 minutes, anyone in the country can beat us.”
The Tigers move to 6-2-2 on the season and 1-1 in NCAC play. They will once again travel to Ohio to face Hiram College next Saturday.