Brian Schaefer scored a pair of goals to power second-ranked Ohio Wesleyan to a 2-0 victory on Denison on Wednesday night at Barclay-Thomsen Field in Granville.

The Big Red had the first quality scoring opportunity in the 30th minute when junior midfielder Mark Waterman ripped a shot from roughly 25 yards out that was snagged out of the air by OWU goalie Colin Beemiller.

After about 10 minutes of dueling in the midfield, the Battling Bishops finally broke the scoreless tie in the 41st minute of play.  Lonnie Barnes started the play with a through ball down the left side.  Barnes' arching pass was chested down by Brian Schaefer who dribbled towards the goal and fired a shot that went off Denison goalie Matt Wagner's hand and into the lower left corner of the goal.

Denison engineered a trio of scoring chances over the final 10 minutes of the half.  Junior Andrew Stewart sent a header off a free kick that was caught by Beemiller in the 42nd minute.  With under a minute to play, freshman Kennedy Kommor and Stewart both had opportunities to fine the back of the net.  Kommor created some space at the top of the 18, but lifted his shot just over the crossbar.  Stewart's second chance was scooped up by Beemiller as time expired.

OWU doubled its lead less than 10 minutes into the second half when Schaefer netted his 11th goal of the year in the 54th minute.  The sophomore midfielder settled a clear attempt and unloaded a shot through traffic that found the lower left 90.  The Bishops nearly put a third goal on the board in the 62nd minute, but a great play by senior defender Will Krentz kept the rolling ball from crossing the goal line.

Senior Bob Casarona and freshman Quinn Miller each had opportunities to break up the shutout, but solid play by the OWU backline and Beemiller kept DU off the scoreboard.

After trailing in the shot category at the midway point, the Battling Bishops finished the match with an 11-10 edge in shot attempts.  Denison attempted twice as many corners (4-2), while Ohio Wesleyan committed 14 fouls to the Big Red's 11.

Casarona paced the offense with three shots, while Waterman, Miller and Stewart each had two.  Wagner finished the game with two saves, while his counterpart, Beemiller, made four stops in 90 minutes.

Denison falls to 11-4-2 and 4-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while OWU improves to 17-0-2 and 6-0-2 in conference play.  The Big Red wraps up the 2013 season on Saturday when they host 25th-ranked DePauw University.  Match time at Barclay-Thomsen Field is slated for 3 p.m.