Men’s Soccer draws to a 1-1 tie with Ohio Wesleyan in NCAC Opener

DELAWARE, OH – Wittenberg's Men's Soccer team ended up in a 1-1 draw, Friday night, Oct. 4, on the road in its first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) match against Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.

Ohio Wesleyan, picked to finish third in the league, was ranked No. 23 in the 2024 United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. The tie puts Wittenberg at 2-3-2 on the season and 0-0-1 in the NCAC, while OWU goes to 5-3-2 overall and 0-0-1 NCAC.

The tie broke a 14-game losing streak for the Tigers vs. OWU. And while Wittenberg hasn't recorded a win over the Battling Bishops since 2002, this was the first non-loss since the 2008 NCAC tournament title match.

It was a fairly even first half with neither team finding the net. The Tigers were the first to draw blood at the 46:47 mark of the second half when freshman Casey Meltzer (Cleveland, OH / St. Ignatius) headed the ball in off a free kick with the assist by Josh Pawlicki (Toledo, OH / Sylvania Southview). It was his second goal of the season. Gabe Porter (Worthington, OH / Kilbourne) added a shot on goal for the Tigers.

The Battling Bishops tied the score at one-all with a goal at the 58:22 mark. Gabe O'Reilly had a header goal off an assist by Alex Bucher on a free kick. It was his third goal of the season.

Each team had one assist. Wittenberg recorded six shots, two on goal, and three corner kicks. OWU tallied 22 shots, eight on goal, and eight corner kicks. Wittenberg also had 13 fouls and one yellow card, while OWU had nine fouls and three yellow cards.

Wittenberg goalkeeper Peter Adams  (Columbus, OH / Hilliard Darby) had a busy, yet successful night, registering seven saves. 

Next up, the Tigers will battle Wooster at noon on Sunday, Oct. 13, in another NCAC matchup.