Staff Report
Senior forward Brian Schaefer (Chatham, N.J.), sophomore midfielder David Robinett (Cincinnati/Indian Hill) and freshman midfielder Jack Shadoan (Dublin/Scioto) scored goals as fifth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan defeated Albion 3-1 in the second round of the annual Fred Myers-adidas Invitational on Sunday at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.
The Britons had the first good scoring chance of the game, when Colin Howard centered the ball to Evan Schweizer coming through the penalty area, but junior goalkeeper Ben Farynowski (Grandview Heights) tipped Schweizer’s shot outside the right post.
Schaefer staked the Bishops to a 1-0 lead by winning a loose ball in the box and firing a shot past Briton keeper Justin Kraft in the 21st minute.
Ohio Wesleyan had a good chance to go up 2-0 in the 32nd minute when freshman forward Will Sharer’s shot was blocked by the Briton defense and junior midfielder Neil Wilson (Batavia) was right there for the offensive rebound, but Wilson’s follow shot was snared by Kraft.
Kraft made another fine play in the 35th minute, coming out to the top of the penalty area to deflect a shot by freshman forward Lucas Farmer (Warrenton, Va./Kettle Run), who had been freed on a breakaway after a lead pass by freshman back Luke Gabbert (Lewis Center/Olentangy Orange). The Briton keeper also tracked down a header by senior back Evan Lee (Toledo/St. John’s) in the closing minutes of the first half.
The Bishops increased their lead to 2-0 early in the second half when senior midfielder Lonnie Barnes (Champaign, Ill./Centennial) sent the ball ahead to Robinett, who finished the chance.
Albion closed to within 2-1 in the 61st minute when Mitchell Palmer headed home a corner kick from Joey Zaremski.
Ohio Wesleyan got the goal back when junior forward Kyle Baum (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) sent the ball out from the middle to Shadoan on the left side, with Shadoan’s shot finding the back of the net with 17:26 left in the game.
“This was a very, very difficult weekend,” said Bishop head coach Jay Martin. “Today’s game was 100 percent mental. Both teams were exhausted. Playing back-to-back is tough — our turnaround was less than 24 hours and our recovery was minimal.
“Evan (Lee) was great, Lonnie (Barnes) was great, and (Brian) Schaefer was great. Overall, it was a successful weekend, but now we have to recover — we have three games in the next six days.”
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Albion, 29-4. Farynowski finished with 2 saves, while Kraft ended up with 7 saves.
In Sunday’s other second-round game, Capital defeated Kalamazoo, 2-1, at Capital University in Columbus.
Lee, Barnes, Schaefer, and senior midfielder Matt DiCesare (Westerville/St. Francis DeSales) represented the Bishops on the all-tournament team. Lee received the Dick Gauthier Award as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The Fred Myers/adidas Invitational, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Delaware County, has been one of the featured events on the Battling Bishops’ schedule for 38 seasons. It honors the memory of Fred Myers, longtime soccer and lacrosse coach at Ohio Wesleyan. Ohio Wesleyan has won the tournament championship 29 times during the 38 years that the Myers Invitational has been held.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
