Box Score INDIANAPOLIS – The Ohio Dominican men's soccer team made its first appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament since 2013 on Thursday afternoon battling Cedarville University. If this matchup sounds familiar, it's because the two teams last competed against one another in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference semifinal just one week ago.
As was the case in their last meeting, it was a heavily contested affair with little separating the two talented clubs. The Yellow Jackets got claimed the first serious scoring opportunity in the 18th minute when Mark Rowan challenged Alvaro Benito (Zargoza, Spain) but the second-year backstop stood tall to claim his first save of the afternoon.
Defender Mo Sheik (Columbus, Ohio) nearly gave the Black and Gold an advantage in the 25th minute when his speedy shot was touched by Cedarville goalkeeper Jared Zacharias, off the bar, off the goalkeeper and out of bounds for a corner kick.
The Yellow Jackets answered with two quick opportunities in the 30th minute but Benito stood tall to keep the ninth-seeded Jackets off the board. Midfielder Jack Heyes (New Albany, Ohio) rocketed a shot that challenged the CU goalkeeper in the closing moments of the first half.
Cedarville claimed the lead in the 47th minute as Rowan showed up on the doorstep of the Panther goal to convert a scoring opportunity. The Black and Gold attempted to hit back in the 55th minute when Nico Briones (Pickerington, Ohio) unleashed a shot from the near side that forced a save from Zacharias. Teammate Shingai Nindi (Shanghai, China) followed up with another opportunity in the 62nd minute that was denied by the Yellow Jacket backstop.
Nindi had one more opportunity in the dying moments of the game, but it wasn't enough to tie the contest as the Black and Gold fell by the score of 1-0.
Contact: Ralph Schudel
schudelr@ohiodominican.edu
