BOX SCORE COLUMBUS, Ohio- Trailing at halftime and looking at early end to their season, Ian Warmbrodt and Steven McCarthy rallied the Capital men's soccer team past visiting Baldwin Wallace 2-1 in an OAC Semifinal Match on Thursday afternoon.
The 2007 and 2008 OAC regular season champion Crusaders (16-4-1) advanced to take on the newly crowned regular season victor and top-seeded and 20th-ranked Ohio Northern Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Crusader fans can follow the action with FREE Live Stats and Audio at www.CapitalCrusaders.net.
CU again received solid play by junior keeper Justin Bultman (Maineville, Ohio/ Kings Mills HS), who avenged a Baldwin-Wallace goal in the 25th minute to record five saves while facing 18 shots.
"There were too many unforced turnovers in the first half, which led to us constantly having to recover defensively," Capital head coach Dwight Burgess said. "I told our guys that as long as we stay focused and disciplined that we were going to get our chances in the second half. Thankfully, we were able to do that."
Warmbrodt (Wadsworth, Ohio/Copley HS) put Capital on the board with his goal in the 67th minute by firing the ball into the net after a Baldwin-Wallace (13-7-1) defender had deflected it to him. His goal was the product of McCarthy's carry and shot in the Yellow Jackets' box.
"Steven played a good ball to the side, and I was able to get it," Warmbrodt said. "I think I actually bumped heads with Steven when I scored, but as long as the ball's in the back of the net, I'm happy."
The junior now trails only McCarthy (Centerville, Ohio/ Archbishop Alter HS) with eight goals on the year and has three in his past two matches. In fact, Warmbrodt's two goals in the 2-0 regular season finale victory over Otterbein gave Capital the number two seed over Baldwin-Wallace and the right to host Thursday's OAC Semifinal Match.
"I feel pretty confidant right now. I've been giving a lot of good scoring opportunities lately, and fortunately I've been able to finish them," Warmbrodt said.
Burgess added, "Ian's playing on another level right now, and is where he needs to be at the right time of the season."
McCarthy stung the Yellow Jackets with his goal off a free kick from brother Daniel McCarthy (Centerville, Ohio/Archbishop Alter HS) less than three minutes later. His quick shot in Baldwin-Wallace's box sped by Yellow Jacket keeper Russ Mika and put CU in front at 2-1.
"That was one of the most important goals that I've scored here at Capital," The OAC all-time leader in goals scored said of his 23rd goal of the campaign. "My brother played me a great ball on the free kick that I was able to flick into the net. Once I saw the ball in the back of the net, I was just so full of emotion."
Steven McCarthy praised the team's offensive adjustment in the second half as a reason for the quick goals.
"Baldwin-Wallace has fast center backs who are strong and win a lot of free balls in the air. They also love to compact, which led to us playing three forwards and spreading them out in the second half," said McCarthy, who helped lead an offense that forged 18 shots. "We eventually found gaps in their defense and we were able to finish. I think our offensive attack broke them down over time. We just wanted to get that tying goal, and once we did that we just started clicking and pushed even harder."
Burgess also praised McCarthy's tenacity as a factor for the team's offensive triumphs in the match's second stanza.
"As well as Baldwin-Wallace was playing Steven, nobody prevents him from getting a couple of quality scoring chances in a 90-minute match," Burgess said. "He was ready when his opportunities came, which led to a goal and assist. That's what you get from an All-American. He came up big for us."
Junior midfielder Lewis Black (Auckland, New Zealand/St. Peter's College) helped the Crusaders maintain their lead by stealing the ball away from Yellow Jackets forward Tyler Leister in Capital's defensive box in the 68th minute.
CU dictated the tempo for the remainder of the match, as Capital continued to swarm the Yellow Jackets' net.
The Crusaders, who improved to 8-1 on the year at home and 14-1-1 in their last 16 contests, will face a Polar Bear unit that defeated them 4-1 in Ada back on October 6.
"We're going to play a experienced team that plays very well at home," Burgess said. "We just have to worry about ourselves Saturday, and if we do our job and control what we can control, we'll have a chance to get past them."