Denison senior midfielder Peter Shorten (Hudson, Ohio/Western Reserve Academy) netted a golden goal in the 103rd minute of play to send the Big Red to a thrilling 2-1 victory over previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Ohio Wesleyan University in the championship of the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament. The victory assures Denison an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Division III Tournament.
Shorten's match-clinching goal came after Ohio Wesleyan held a decided offensive advantage in the first overtime period. The Bishops only outshot DU 4-3 over that 10 minute time frame, but two of those shots resulted in saves by Denison goalkeeper Kevin Donahue (Riverside, Conn./Greenwich).
In the the second overtime, Shorten's goal developed after a throw in by the Big Red from the left sideline. The ball was cleared by an OWU defender, however, Shorten skillfully used his body to settle the ball, then unleashed a shot from just inside the box to the left upper corner of the goal, sending the DU sideline and the hundreds of Big Red fans in attendance into a frenzy.
This is the second NCAC Tournament championship for Denison. The first came in 2006 when DU also entered as the No. 2 seed, eventually defeating Allegheny College, 3-2, in one overtime. This year's senior class were freshman on that Cinderella squad and tonight's win must have conjure up a little deja vu for those six seniors who were involved in both of these milestone victories.
In the 47th minute, Denison fired the first shot as sophomore Preston Wagner (Toronto, Ontario/TASIS American School) scored on a long shot attempt from 35-yards out. Wagner bent the ball through the OWU defense and into the upper right 90. The goal not only gave Denison a 1-0 lead, it marked just the second time all season that the Bishops trailed in a match.
A long way from finished, Ohio Wesleyan bounced back in the 74th minute when junior Tyler Wall chipped a shot over the head of Donahue, evening the score at 1-1. The goal was eerily similar to the game-winning goal scored by Chris Olson (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) in Wednesday's semifinal against Kenyon. In this instance, Blake Pifer played the ball ahead to Wall who was all alone with Donahue. Denison's senior keeper had to come out and challenge, and at just the right time, Wall sent a perfect chip shot that trickled into the back of the net.
Ohio Wesleyan led in total shots 26-11, but the Big Red held a slight advantage in corner kicks, 5-4. Donahue posted five saves while OWU keeper, Richard Ott, finished with two saves.
Ohio Wesleyan entered the match having allowed just three goals all season long. The two goals scored by the Big Red were the most allowed by the Bishops since falling to Trinity (Texas), 2-1, in last year's NCAA Division III sectional semifinal (round of 16). It also marked the first NCAC Tournament win over Ohio Wesleyan in five attempts and it snapped a streak of eight losses or ties to the Bishops which dated back to 2003.
Denison improves to 12-4-3 while Ohio Wesleyan drops to 18-1-2. The 2009 NCAA Division III Tournament selections will be announced on Monday (Nov. 9).
