Men’s Soccer Closes With Tough Wooster Battle
By Sehban Zaidi

The Oberlin College men’s soccer team’s roller coaster season ended with a hard fought 1-0 loss to the College of Wooster last Saturday.
The Yeomen came just short of a .500 season with a 9-10-1 overall record and a 2-7 record in the North Coast Athletic Conference, a marked improvement over last year’s 1-15 season.
Wooster came to Oberlin with a 14-0-3 record attempting to secure an undefeated season. The Yeomen went into the game with a 9-9-1 record and the possibility of finishing over .500.
Oberlin played arguably their best game of the season in the highly contested match, continuously attacking the Wooster goal. Wooster made constant wholesale substitution, changing six players every 15 minutes. Through crisp passing and purposeful off-the-ball running, the Yeomen made sure the Wooster subs didn’t settle in. As the half drew nearer Wooster began to make determined runs at the Oberlin goal. At halftime, however, it was the Yeomen who had the upper hand.
In the second half the game became more balanced with both teams searching for the opening goal. Wooster struck first with a controversial goal. After a long ball into the Oberlin 18 yard line a Wooster forward pulled senior fullback William Singer to the ground and belted the ball past first year Lincoln Smith. Despite the vehement appeals by head coach Blake New, the goal stood and the Yeomen were 1-0 down.
The goal only inspired the Yeomen to work harder and they began to test the Wooster back line. Sophomore Max Hellerman hit the cross bar after a well worked Oberlin move, but that was the closest the Yeomen were going to get and as the final whistle blew Wooster led 1-0.
“Playing against the number two team, I think we really passed around them. We had some hard chances. We’re ready for them next year though,” junior Danny Homan said.
“We were nicely organized in the back. Lincoln didn’t have to do much. He made one good save, and was unlucky on their goal, which was scored on a questionable call,” senior Richard Braithwaite said.
Braithwaite and Singer are two of the five seniors graduating this year. The other three are Simon Spaid, Jay Rosenthal and Luke Eisenhauer. All of them were part of the spine of the Oberlin team but with much skill and poise shown by the incoming first-years, next year brings with it new promise.

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