Wabash sophomore Andre Hall scored the opening goal in the Little Giants' Saturday night soccer match at Ohio Wesleyan. The regionally-ranked Battling Bishops answered with three second-half goals for an eventual 3-1 victory.
Hall (right) fired his first goal of the season into the net on a pass from Matt Kaster in the 34th minute of the match to put the Little Giants in front 1-0. The shot on goal was one of only two for Wabash against OWU, ranked fourth in the Great Lakes Region in the latest NSCAA/adidas poll.
"We were beating one of the best teams in the country in the first 45 minutes of the match," head coach Roberto Giannini said. "Unfortunately the game lasts 90 minutes."
The Bishops (13-4-0, 7-0-0 NCAC) scored the equalizer less than two minutes into the second period. Brian Greene nailed a header off a corner kick to put OWU on the scoreboard. Ryan Harmanis scored the game-winning goal in the 69th minute before the Bishops added a final goal in the 71st minute of play.
"We played hard and played very well," Giannini said. "Ohio Wesleyan may be the better soccer team, but we battled them head to head.
"We're a little disappointed because we had some opportunities in the second half. We've proven how well we can play now in a match like this. We have to let this effort carry over to our last two matches of the season."
The Little Giants (5-9-3, 0-7-0 NCAC) conclude their season with two home matches this week. Wednesday afternoon the Earlham College Quakers travel to Mud Hollow Field for a 4 p.m. contest. The 2008 soccer season ends Saturday with an 11 a.m. match against Oberlin.