No one would have picked Wabash to upset the fourth-ranked men's soccer team in the nation when the Little Giants traveled to Ohio Wesleyan University Wednesday night. And the Little Giants didn't defeat OWU, losing 2-0.
But it wasn't for a lack of effort by the Wabash squad.
"We played 90 minutes of soccer tonight," head coach Roberto Giannini said proudly after the match. "Ohio Wesleyan is the better soccer team right now. But they had to play hard on every ball tonight."
In fact, the Bishops wouldn't score until the end of the first half when Tim Kelly took a shot with only 45 seconds left on the clock to give the Bishops a 1-0 lead. Eric Francis added a second goal in the 58th minute, but once again OWU had to work for the goal.
"We battled for every 50-50 ball," Giannini said. "We weren't intimidated, we played hard, we played smart. We played the way I want to see a Wabash soccer team play.
"If we had played this way throughout the season, our overall record and our standing in the North Coast Athletic Conference would be much different."
The Little Giants had three shots on goal at the offensive end of the pitch. Andrew Kapsalis, Mike Kaster, and Michael-Paul Hutchins each fired a shot at the net, but could not put the Little Giants on the scoreboard. Jon Miller made eight saves in net for Wabash.
The Little Giants (3-13-1, 1-6-1 NCAC) conclude the 2006 season Saturday morning in an 11:30 a.m. match against Oberlin College. Seniors Ben Esbaum, Greg Ridenour, Tahir Ahmed, and Zuber Ahmed will be honored prior to the start of the match.