Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College men's soccer team put forth an inspired effort on Saturday afternoon at Fred Shults Field but in the end, it wasn't enough as the visiting Wabash College Little Giants escaped town with a 3-2 victory.
It was a physical battle throughout the 90-minute affair as both sides combined for 26 fouls and five cautions along the way.
The Yeomen withstood of a flurry of promising chances in the early going that went by the wayside for the Little Giants only to strike first on the counter attack. It was the red hot
Xander Francoeur who deposited the game's first goal as he leaked through the middle of the box to finish off a cross from the far side by
Toby Wells-Zimmerman in the 19
th minute.
Oberlin made the 1-nil advantage standup throughout the first half despite heading into the intermission trailing the Little Giants 14-5 in total shots.
Unfortunately, after the restart it didn't take long for the visitors to find the equalizer as Alexis Delgado headed in a Caleb Castano cross from the near side just 2:16 into the second stanza.
Wabash would strike again less than two minutes later as Jesse Martinez put the Little Giants out in front for good. In the 66
th minute, Martinez would cash in once more to make it a 3-1 Wabash advantage but the Yeomen wouldn't go away without a fight.
In was the Little Giants backline who ultimately saved the game for Wabash. Moment's after an acrobatic team save on an Francoeur attempt, the Yeomen would trim the gap down to just one as Wells-Zimmerman found space in the box after taking a feed from
Jon Schafer and pushed one past Soren Russell with 10:23 still left to expire.
The work rate for the Yeomen continued down the stretch and they nearly pulled off the heist if not for the Wabash rearguard. In the 86
th minute, a header from Wells-Zimmerman appeared destined for the back of the net but it was swept away at the last second and in the 88
th a left-footed strike from Schafer suffered the same fate just inches before crossing the end line for the would-be equalizer.
Russell made just one save of his own in the contest with his teammates accounting for three more. His counterpart
Colvin Iorio made six stops for the Yeomen.
Wabash finished with 20-11 shot advantage, including a 10-6 margin in shots on goal but the Yeomen triggered three corners compared to just one for them.
Oberlin is back in action at home on Wednesday as it welcomes former NCAC foe Allegheny to town for a 7 p.m. clash.
