Going into last weekendís match against undefeated Ohio Wesleyan University, the Wooster menís soccer team knew it would have all it could handle. On paper, this game looked like it would be as big of a mismatch as an old episode of Fox Newsís Hannity and Colmes. Unfortunately, while the Scots had hung tough with talented teams before, the Battling Bishops were every bit as good as their national ranking indicated.
The Bishops (14-0-2) came into the game atop the North Coast Athletic Conference standings, sitting pretty as the No. 2 team in the country according to the Div. III coachesí poll. The Scots (3-7-2), meanwhile, have been trying to find themselves since the beginning of the season. Since kicking off the season 2-0-1, the Scots had won just one of their last eight matches since Sept. 9 in a 2-1 win over Malone College. A weekend trip to Delaware, Ohio against No. 2 Ohio Wesleyan hardly seemed like a time to get well ó it wasnít.
The Bishops controlled the game from the outset. While the game was scoreless for the first 10 minutes, the Bishops then scored five times before the half. They knocked in goals in the 11th, 17th, 23rd, 36th and 40th minutes. By halftime, the Scots were already down by a 5-0 deficit. In one half, the Scots had allowed more goals than they had allowed in a game all season. Early in the second half, the Bishops knocked in a sixth goal for good measure.
The six goals were also the most Wooster had allowed in almost a decade. The last time the Scots had allowed half a dozen goals came on Oct. 7, 2000 in yet another lopsided loss to Ohio Wesleyan ó this time coming by a 7-1 score.
One of the gameís few bright spot came from inside the goal. Goalkeeper Taylor Takacs í12 notched a career-high 11 saves on the day. On the offensive side, Karl Ruter í10 led the team with three shots.
While lopsided losses are always tough to stomach, losing to the No. 2 team in the nation is no shame. The biggest problem for the Scots this season has again come on the offensive side. In the teamís last six games, the team has tied one and lost five. In that span, the team has scored just three goals.
The Scots fell again in NCAC play on Wednesday at the hands of Hiram College 2-1.
The team is still looking for its first conference win of the year. With three games left on the slate the rest of the way, the teamís chances of making the NCAC Tournament is a long shot at best. However, the team does have a good shot at notching its first win of the year in its next two home games, against Oberlin College and Allegheny College. Both the Yeomen and the Quakers are just 1-3-1 this season in NCAC play.