On Saturday, the Kenyon men’s soccer team mounted an impressive offensive and defensive showing against the DePauw University Tigers, last year’s NCAC Tournament champions. The Owls worked tirelessly throughout the 90-minute contest, finding the back of the net once, but failed to capitalize on any additional opportunities, ending the match in a 1-1 tie. Then, on Wednesday, Kenyon demolished the College of Wooster 4-0. The results leave the Owls with a record of 5-3-7 (1-2-3 NCAC). 

While DePauw launched a swift offensive campaign early on, Kenyon’s defense dampened the Tigers’ initial attempts and quickly countered. Moustapha Gassama ’27 earned Kenyon’s first shot of the day about 10 minutes into the match, aiming toward the bottom left corner of the net. Unfortunately for the Owls, the Tigers’ keeper made the save. In the 29th minute, DePauw put the first goal on the board. With the score at 1-0, the Owls looked urgently to strike back in order to level things. Gassama continued to put on a dominant attacking performance, earning another shot and logging the Owls’ second of the match, just missing the net. The Owls maintained steady attacking pressure, but these efforts were to no avail. 

Going into the second half, Kenyon looked to mount a more successful attack and came onto the field energized. Less than a minute into play, Isaac Cortez ’26 scored the Owls’ first and only goal of the game on a pass from Andrew Adams ’28, tying the match at 1-1. Kenyon then settled into the second half, solidifying a strong defensive performance, but couldn’t find another goal. Both teams were nearly even, with Kenyon logging 14 shots to Depauw’s 15. 

On Wednesday, the Owls got off to a quick start against Wooster, scoring the game’s first goal less than five minutes in. Jack Commandeur ’29 fired in a shot that was barely saved, and the ball fell back to his feet before he quickly slid a pass to Ethan Castaneda ’28, who calmly put it in the net. For the rest of the first half, both teams went back and forth in possession, and the game went into halftime with Kenyon up 1-0.

Wooster began the second half on the front foot, but the Owls’ defense held strong. Then, Kenyon began to strike on the counterattack, forcing a corner kick in the 58th minute. After the ball was swung into the box, it found the head of Robbie Stroebel ’26, who directed it into the goal to double the Owls’ lead. Kenyon continued to put pressure on Wooster’s end, and 14 minutes later, Commandeur slid a shot past the Fighting Scots’ goalkeeper to increase the Owls’ lead to 3-0. To close things out, Kenyon forced a penalty in the 80th minute, which James Paden ’26 calmly scored to seal the dominant 4-0 win.

As the Owls enter the remaining two games of the season, captain Joaquin Sanchez-Korenfeld ’26 commented on some of the team’s thoughts and his role as a leader. In an email to the Collegian, he wrote, “We feel confident and prepared for this run. As a senior, I try to transmit calm and confidence to the younger guys — set the standard in training, keep us organized on the field and make sure we handle these big games with composure to achieve our goal.”

The Owls will finish out their regular season campaign on Saturday as they face Ohio Wesleyan University at home, a game that Kenyon mathematically needs to win in order to qualify for the NCAC tournament. The Owls have not missed the conference tournament since 2011.