Men’s
Soccer Team Undefeated in Four Contests
By Sehban Zaidi
Dusting off any
cobwebs from last season and building on a solid performance in
the Lycoming College Classic, the Oberlin men’s soccer team
secured back-to-back wins last weekend. An Oberlin team boasting
a talented mix of youth and experience defeated both Olivet College
and Anderson University with identical 2-1 scores. Last weekend’s
victories secured a 3-0-1 record for the Yeomen.
“I was very pleased with the way we played,” head coach
Blake New said of the victories.
The “180 degree turn” in attitude and work rate described
by New was showcased for the home supporters this weekend. New highlighted
the work that still needs to be done, though. “I thought we
played well, but we need to sharpen up. We definitely had momentary
lapses where we drew too many players to the flanks and left the
middle exposed.” The 3-0-1 record suggests that New has assembled
a team that will prove wrong the pundits at the NCAC who predicted
a last place finish for the Yeomen.
Olivet College was the first visiting team to set foot on Oberlin’s
soccer field this year. In the early minutes of the match, it appeared
they would steal a victory. Olivet’s players were physically
more imposing than the Yeomen and showed early on that they had
every intention of using that to their advantage. The best example
of the rough play was a tussle between Olivet’s forward and
Oberlin’s left midfielder, junior Phil Kresniske. Kresniske
reacted to the challenge, and the referee had to step in and calm
the situation.
As the first half wore on, Oberlin began to impose their dominance
through clever link up play in the midfield and a solid defense.
The Yeomen’s back four, consisting of seniors Luke Eisenhauer
and Will Singer, junior Jamie Davis and sophomore Nick Franco, held
strong, keeping Olivet at bay.
Singer warranted praise from New, who said of the right back, “I
think we’ve finally found the place for Will; it has solidified
the back and he has been tremendous.”
Sophomore Max Hellerman and first-year Dave Wilson worked tirelessly
to steady central midfield. The outside midfield pairing of junior
Danny Homan and first-year Evan Childress complemented the forwards
with well-timed forward runs, a trend that was effectively continued
by the pairing of Kresniske and junior Issaku Kohl. The Yeomen’s
work rate and passing were rewarded in the 40th minute when senior
Richard Braithwaite controlled a sublime 40-yard pass from Alex
Potzrebowski and carried past two defenders to score his fourth
goal of the season. This gave the Yeomen a 1-0 lead, which they
carried to halftime.
Olivet made regular substitutions to try and wrench the game back
from Oberlin. Inspired by forward Omar Hayat, Olivet asked questions
of the resolute Yeoman defense by attacking regularly. Wilson secured
a second goal for Oberlin in the 63rd minute with an unassisted
strike of some class. He nipped the ball past the last defender
and rippled the back of the net with a low driven shot. Olivet continued
to attack and Hayat took advantage of a momentary lapse in concentration
by Oberlin to score off a set piece in the 80th minute. The goal
came as little consolation, though, as the Yeoman held on to win
the tie 2-1.
The victory was slightly dulled by the ankle injury sustained by
Davis, who has been an integral part of Oberlin’s defensive
structure. The injury is expected to keep Davis out of action for
about two weeks.
Anderson University, who beat Oberlin 7-3 last season, promised
to be a tougher test for an Oberlin side that was playing its second
match in as many days. Anderson picked up where they had left off
last year, playing some attacking football in the early minutes
of the game and firing a total of 13 shots at the Oberlin goal.
The Yeoman countered well, using both flanks and stretching out
the Anderson defense. This culminated in a lovely cut back cross
from Homan, which junior Jesse Kipp rose to meet on the edge of
the six-yard box and headed down well. Eddie Kratzit, Anderson’s
goalkeeper, did well to keep out Kipp’s goal bound effort.
It was Anderson who had the early chances, and Singer once again
proved his worth with a sliding goal line clearance to keep the
game scoreless.
Oberlin counterattacked effectively and with good speed, but neither
team was able to maintain possession for long periods of time. Oberlin
took control of the game as halftime rolled around. They started
the second half with similar fervor, with Braithwaite bagging his
fifth goal of the season in the 50th minute after a skilled and
determined run from Hellerman.
Although Oberlin began to look like the better team, Anderson attacked
regularly and didn’t allow the Yeomen to kill the game off.
As the game wore on, Oberlin began to show some signs of fatigue.
“[The heat] definitely affected individual players and we
countered that by using more players,” New said. “We
feel confident of the guys on the bench. Had we been fresh and sharp
many more chances could have been finished.”
Even as a first-year, Lincoln Smith is proving to be a calming influence
for Oberlin by providing solid cover between the posts. Smith recorded
10 saves for the game, and cleanly intercepted a number of crosses.
Smith still has to mature a bit as a keeper, however, as an uncharacteristic
mistake led to an Anderson equalizer in the 89th minute that sent
the game into overtime. He came off his line to intercept a pass,
but not nearly aggressively enough, leaving an empty goal into which
an Anderson forward sent a looping header. New said that “Lincoln
made the right decision to come off his line, but he hesitated.”
The Yeomen came out for over-time hungry for a win and capable of
getting one. Anderson kept attacking, threatening at times to win
the nailbiter with a golden goal, but Oberlin’s determined
and organized play won out in the end. Hellerman, notching his second
assist for the match, revived an attack that seemed dead. After
dribbling past a hapless left back, he needled a pass through to
Braithwaite, who scored the perfect poacher’s goal. It was
his second goal of the game and his sixth of the season. The goal
came in the 107th minute, the second period of overtime.
This weekend’s games highlighted the depth of the team. “In
the past, we would have missed a player of Jamie’s caliber,
but [junior] Karl [Duderstadt] stepped in and played well,”
said New.
The injuries have mounted, with key figures such as senior Simon
Spaid, sophomore Mitchell Bartlett, sophomore Joel Witmer and Davis
either out with injuries or still recovering. The Yeomen will need
their depth in light of these injuries when they host Carnegie Mellon
University on Sept. 14.
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