Men's soccer battles valiantly, splits pair

It takes more than a little rain to put out the men's soccer team's fire. The Yeomen crushed Lake Erie on Wednesday in a 4-2 victory and played hard against Mt. Union on Saturday despite losing 5-1.

The weather was cold and damp, but Oberlin couldn't have played a better game even in ideal conditions. Although both teams spent much of the game slipping and sliding in the mud, Oberlin managed to win the game. "Passing was key to all our goals... From the fullbacks to the halfbacks to the forwards, we played the whole field and used all our players," senior Jabali Sewicki said.

Oberlin's first goal came fifteen minutes into the match. Captain junior Jon Wilson beat two defenders to take a shot on goal. The goalie blocked the shot, but the ball rebounded and junior Steve Kehler scored.

Oberlin continued to dominate, allowing their opponents few scoring opportunities. With 15 minutes left in the first half, though, Lake Erie managed to overwhelm the Oberlin defense en route to a goal. Oberlin quickly squashed the momentum generated by the score, regaining the lead a few minutes later with an impressive goal of their own. Sewicki dribbled the ball down the field then heeled the ball back to sophomore Sam Hopkins. Hopkins ran the ball to the corner and made a left footed cross to Wilson who headed the ball into the left corner of the goal.

Both teams play started slow in the second half, but the pace seemed to pick up 15 minutes into the period. Neither team had scored yet and both were eager to take control of the match. Oberlin stepped up as sophomore Yair Evnine jumped for a header; junior captain David Lessinger then got the ball and beat a defender before playing the ball to Sewicki who trapped it and drove it into the upper right corner of the goal.

Oberlin continued to control the game and Lake Erie became increasingly frustrated. With twenty minutes left, Oberlin scored their final goal. Sewicki beat three defenders after receiving a pass from senior Russell Menyhart. Sewicki then made a crisp pass to Wilson for the quick score.

Sadly, the victory came at a high price. Ten minutes into the match, Oberlin lost sophomore keeper Caleb Stokes when he aggravated an injury from earlier in the season. The extent of the injury is not yet known, but if Stokes' clavicle is broken he will be out for the rest of the season. "Caleb is a strong leader on the team. [Not having him] is a great loss, but I'm confident Tyler [Smith, sophomore] will be able to rise to the occasion," Sewicki said.

Saturday saw Oberlin lose an aggressive contest with Mt. Union. "The score never reflects how we played," said first-year Jay Rosenthal. The Yeomen came out strong but took a few minutes to adjust to slippery field conditions and found themselves three goals down fifteen minutes into the match. Despite the early deficit, they did not get frustrated and delivered a solid performance for the rest of the game.

During the first 15 minutes, the Raiders and Yeomen seemed evenly matched. Both teams delivered offense-minded performances, with each team taking numerous shots on goal. Oberlin made a few crucial mistakes, allowing Mt. Union to capture the lead. "Defense played well but the ball skipped on the grass and [Oberlin] misread the ball. Mt. Union capitalized on that," Rosenthal said.

The Yeomen quickly adapted and grew more focused and determined. Twenty minutes into the match, Hopkins made a break up the left sideline and crossed the ball in a low line drive to Sewicki. Sewicki came in from the right and shot into the left corner of the goal, providing the Yeomen with their lone goal.

"There was a lot of individual effort in the game, a lot of hustling, especially with defense. We never gave up. Even when we were down we didn't let up. We tackled hard," said Evnine.

The men face Wittenberg on Saturday and are confident they can win. "Mt. Union was a wake-up call. With Lake Erie, we had an impressive performance. We'll take what we've learned from both to Saturday's game and come out strong," Sewicki said.