Kenyon men’s soccer tallied two more wins this week against Hiram College (4-9-0, 2-3-0) and Ohio Wesleyan University (8-6-1, 4-1-1), keeping them on pace for a first-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

The Lords managed to squeeze past Hiram with a late goal by Gabe Ivins ’21. In the first half, Kenyon managed seven shots to Hiram’s three. Despite the attempts, the Lords could not convert, as the Hiram goalkeeper collected three saves in the first half.

The second half saw the Lords continue to pressure Hiram’s defense as they mustered another eight shots and finally broke through in the 75th minute of the match. A deflection placed                                                                                                                                           the ball next to Ivins on top of Hiram’s 18-yard box. Ivins capitalized on his good positioning with a shot that flew by the Terriers’ goalkeeper and into the right side of the net.

With just three minutes left in the match, the Lords nearly let up another late goal when Hiram launched a shot that sailed just over the crossbar. The Lords held on for the 1-0 win over their NCAC opponents.

Against Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU), the Lords came out swinging in the first 25 minutes of the game.

Just two minutes into the match, Kenyon nearly found the back of the net, but a header by Henry Myers ’18 was stopped cold on the goal line by the opposing keeper.

The Lords broke through in the 16th minute when Alberto Carmona ’19 fired a shot into the back left corner of the goal. 

Barely 10 seconds had passed after the first goal when Kenyon forward Brice Koval ’19 received a pass from Myers for a one-on-one opportunity with the OWU keeper, whom Koval beat to double the Lords’ lead.

A defensive mistake gave the Battling Bishops their first goal of the game, as a mishit ball by the Kenyon defense fell to OWU’s Will Sharer, who tucked the ball into the Lords’ net from about 20 yards out.

In the second half, the Lords’ defense only allowed one more shot on goal while Kenyon managed to score again when Billy O’Neill ’18 crossed to Myers, who headed home his 12th goal of the season.

On the game, the Lords dominated offensively, a now common sight for the team, outshooting their opponents 19 to six.

Kenyon now carries an 11-2-2 (6-0-0) record into their last three season games against Depauw University, Oberlin College and Allegheny College. If the Lords can continue their winning streak, the NCAC season title will be theirs for the third straight year.