TIFFIN, Ohio – Earth, Wind & Fire wasn't the headliner on Saturday (Nov. 5) afternoon at the 2022 Great Midwest Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament championship game.
Rather, it was Eagles, Wind & Yellow Jackets. And while the wind played a significant role in Saturday's title tilt, it was the Eagles who took advantage of their half of the game playing with it. As a result, Ashland (12-6-1) took a 2-1 decision from Cedarville (11-8-2) to win the Great Midwest tourney title for the first time, and its third conference tournament championship in the last five years.
"It's just a good group of kids," said Ashland head coach
Nick Roberts. "They really got going. They worked hard. It got going, and it didn't stop. And the kids worked and worked and worked. We put a lot of time and effort into this season.
"The team's done great, but now, it's building a program. What is this going to look like in 10 years. That's the goal."
What also comes with that win is an automatic spot in the 2022 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, which starts next week. Not bad for a team which started the season with just 21 total player starts returning from 2021.
Ashland has recorded its most single-season wins since 2010 (13), as well as the program's biggest one-season win improvement in 14 years.
WHAT HAPPENED
- The Yellow Jackets wasted little time taking a 1-0 lead, as the strong wind knocked down an AU clear attempt, then Victor Pomelli set up Jake Johnson for the game's first goal in front of the Eagle net in the third minute.
- Indicative of the advantage Cedarville had during the first half with the wind gusts, the Yellow Jackets outshot the Eagles, 12-1, and had six of the seven corner kicks in the first 45 minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Ty Bowden made five saves in the first half to keep AU in the game.
- "They told me the wind gusts were 40 miles an hour, so if we won the coin toss, we were going to go against the wind," Roberts said. "We played very well after that (Cedarville goal)."
- Playing with the wind in the second half, the Eagles tied the game at 1 in the 53rd minute on a corner kick. Fifth-year midfielder Oliver Whaley scored on a bending kick which went into the net for his second goal of the fall. Sophomore midfielder Oliver Lovell assisted, his third of the campaign.
- Ashland took a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute when Whaley took a rebound off a shot from junior midfielder Vander Rocha and scored his second of the game and third of the season. Rocha's sixth assist leads the team in 2022.
- "I got told my Nick we had a good group going into the season," Whaley said. "It's good to actually get here and put in an end result like that. For me, goals aren't a massive part of my game."
THE WRAP-UP
- Bowden finished with six saves in the victory. Cedarville finished with a 19-12 shots advantage, and the corner kicks were tied at 7.
- Whaley, Bowden, sophomore midfielder Teddy Togliatti, freshman defender Francesco Chiappo and junior midfielder Matthew Roberts all earned all-tournament honors, and Whaley was the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
