BOX SCORE BEREA, Ohio - The Capital men's soccer team secured a key Ohio Athletic Conference draw on Tuesday night, a 3-3 effort at Baldwin-Wallace in a match that featured highly spirited efforts on both sides.
Playing in its final road contest of the season, Capital (12-4-1, 4-1-1 OAC) put itself into control of the final first-round bye in the upcoming OAC Tournament. Although CU and B-W (9-6-1, 4-1-1 OAC) are tied for second place in the OAC standings, the Crusaders would hold the tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets if both teams won their remaining three matched because of its status as the visiting team in Tuesday night's contest.
Capital opened the scoring with three goals in the first half. OAC all-time leading scorer Steven McCarthy (Centerville, Ohio/Archbishop Alter HS) added to his totals with unassisted goals in the 12th and 14th minutes. The scores were the senior's 20th and 21st of the season, which are the most in the OAC and among the Top 5 nationally.
Sophomore Daniel McCarthy (Centerville, Ohio/Archbishop Alter HS) tallied a goal of his own in the 25th minute when senior Josh Thaboune (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley HS) found him at the top of the box for a one touch shot that made its way to the back of the net for a 3-0 CU lead.
Baldwin-Wallace began chipping away with an answering goal just 90 seconds later on a corner kick by Jeff Bonezzi than bent into the goal. Pat Brennan then scored just 82 ticks before halftime from the right side to close out an eventful first half with Capital ahead 3-2.
The Crusaders held onto their lead for much of the second half until a Yellow Jacket header by Colin Vandendriessche evened the match at 3-3.
Baldwin-Wallace held a commanding 24-7 lead in shots and a 13-5 advantage in corner kicks. B-W was whistled for 13 fouls while CU committed 12 with the Yellow Jackets earning three yellow cards and the Crusaders getting booked just once.
Capital begins a three-match homestand to close out the OAC regular season on Saturday with a doubleheader against Mount Union. The women will begin at 1 p.m. followed by the men at 3 p.m. Both matches can be followed with FREE Live Stats, Video and Audio at www.CapitalCrusaders.net.