Mount Men Miss Out on Postseason

TIFFIN, OH - October 27, 2012 - Mount Union men's soccer team ended the 2012 season with a 3-3 draw (2 OT's) at Heidelberg, in an Ohio Athletic Conference match, Saturday afternoon.

Mount Union finishes the season with a 4-8-4 record overall and 2-4-3 in the OAC, while Heidelberg's record is 9-6-3 and 4-2-3 in the conference. The Purple Raiders finished the season tied for sixth in the OAC standings, but were eliminated from playoff contention from a series of tie-breakers.

Heidelberg will enter the OAC tournament as the number five seed.

Heidelberg opened with the game's first goal 57 seconds into the game when Andy Lacefield scored an unassisted goal.

Hamid Shariff gave the Princes a 2-0 lead in the 72nd minute, when teammate Ryan Homoki crossed the ball, and Shariff received it and put it into the net behind Raider goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney).

Freshman Coty Lipply (Rootstown/Southeast) cut the Student Princes lead to 1 in the 78th minute, when freshman Clay Hicks (Leetonia/ Cardinal Mooney) gave a great pass to Lipply, and Lipply drilled the ball off the post and into the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) tied the game at two for the Raiders in the 80th minute when he put a great shot in the left upper 90 of the goal that was just out of the reach of Student Prince Goalkeeper Matthew Prince. The goal marked Felker's third of the season.

Christopher Koczak scored what looked like to be the game winner in the 84th minute for Heidelberg when he was the receipent of a great pass from teammate Nico Samaniego, and Koczak scored the goal to give Heidelberg a 3-2 lead.

Sophomore Josh Bennett (Hartville/Lake) scored the game tying goal for the Raiders in the 88th with Chris Felker and Clay Hicks getting assists on the goal.

Critell had eight saves on the evening for the Raiders, while Stevens had fourteen saves for the Student Princes.

Mount Union outshot Heidelberg 26-21 for the game.

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BW Draws with Mount Men

ALLIANCE, OH - October 24, 2012 - Mount Union's men's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against Baldwin-Wallace, in an Ohio Athletic Conference match, Wednesday evening at Mount Union Stadium.

With the draw, Mount Union's overall record is 4-8-3 overall and 2-4-2 in the OAC, while Baldwin-Wallace's record is 6-6-4 and 1-4-3 in the conference.

Mount Union had the best scoring chance of the first half in the 36th minute, when Tanner Mathews (Alliance/Marlington) shot the ball to the lower right hand corner of the net, but Yellow Jacket goalkeeper Ryan Hulings made a great diving save to keep the game scoreless.

The Raiders outshot the Jackets 25-11 in regulation, including a 13-3 shot advantage in the second half.

Hulings played an impressive game for the Yellow Jackets saving all 15 shots that he faced. Senior Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) had five saves on the evening, and extended his own school record of career shutouts to 22.

On Saturday, Mount Union will travel to Heidelberg for its final regular season match of the 2012 season.

Mount Men Draw with Otterbein

ALLIANCE, OH - October 20, 2012 - Mount Union and Otterbein played to a 1-1 draw in an Ohio Athletic Conference match, Saturday afternoon Oct. 20th at Mount Union Stadium.

With the draw, Mount Union improves its record to 4-8-2 overall and 2-4-1 in the OAC and Otterbein is now 5-8-2 and 1-4-2 in the conference. The Raiders are 0-2-2 in games decided in overtime, while the Cardinals are 0-1-2.

Otterbein scored the game's first goal in the 61st minute, when a Raider defender passed it back to goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) and Aaric Milligan stole the ball and put it into the net.

Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) tied the game at one for the Raiders in the 78th minute, when Eric Ehrenberg (Salem/Cardinal Mooney) crossed the ball, and Trocchio headed the ball into the net for his third of the season. Mount Union outshot Otterbein 29-16.

Critell had four saves on the afternoon for the Raiders, while Kyle Ripma had three for the Cardinals.

The Raiders host Baldwin-Wallace in their next game, for Senior Night on Tuesday, Oct. 24th at 7:00 p.m. in Mount Union Stadium.

MU Men Back on Track

NEW CONCORD, OH - October 16, 2012 - Mount Union's men's soccer team defeated Muskingum 1-0 Tuesday evening.

With the win, the Purple Raiders improve to 4-8-1 and 2-4 in the OAC, while Muskingum falls to 5-8-3 and 2-4 in conference play. 

The Raiders scored the game winning goal in the 78th minute, when senior Leo Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney) passed the ball to fellow senior Brant Schonauer (Walhonding/River View), and Schonauer buried the ball into the goal. The goal marked Schonauer's first goal of the season as well as Hicks' first assist. 

Muskingum outshot Mount Union 13-12 for the match. Senior Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) saved all four shots for his fifth shutout of the season, and extends his school record of career shutouts to 21. 

Woes Continue for Mount Men

COLUMBUS, OH - October 13, 2012 - Mount Union's men's soccer team fell 4-1 at Capital in an Ohio Athletic Conference match today.

With the victory, Capital improves its record to 6-5-3 and 1-3-1 in the OAC, while Mount Union falls 3-8-1, and 1-4 in the conference. 

Mount Union scored the first goal of the match in the 20th minute when junior Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) shot the ball on net, forcing Crusader goalkeeper Bob Weisgarber to make a save and freshman Coty Lipply (Rootstown/Southeast) shot the rebound into the net to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead. This marked the third goal of the year for Lipply, and the third assist for Trocchio.

Capital tied the game at one, when Nick Eley played passed the ball into the middle of the 18 yard box, and Eley shot the ball past Raider goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney)

Josh Spaw scored the game winner for Capital in the 82nd minute, when teammate Al Argyris took a corner kick and Spaw headed the ball into the net.

For the game, the Raiders outshot the Crusaders 12-9.

The Raiders will play their next game on Tuesday Oct.16 at Muskingum.

Fouls Dominate OAC Matchup

ALLIANCE, OH - October 10, 2012 - Mount Union's men's soccer team fell at home to John Carroll in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday evening, Oct. 10th at Mount Union Stadium.

With the win, John Carroll improves its record to 7-5-1 and 3-0-1 in the OAC, while Mount Union falls to 3-7-1 and 1-3-0 in conference play.

Both teams played quite aggressively for the game combing for 41 fouls and eight yellow cards.

Goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) kept the game scoreless with a great save to open the game in the 1st minute, when Nathan Sharbaugh shot the ball to the lower right hand corner, and made a great diving save.

Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute, when he received a pass from teammate Clay Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney) and netted his second goal of the season.

Brian Potocnik tied the game at 1 for the Blue Streaks, when teammate Nathan Sharbaugh beat two defenders near the touch line, passed it to Potocnik who beat another defender and scored his third goal of the season.

Sharbaugh put the Blue Streaks up 2-1 in the 53rd minute, when he dribbled the ball along the end line and shot the ball in the upper right-hand corner.

Critell had four saves for the game, while on the offensive end the Raiders had seven shots.

MU Fall in Double OT Thriller

ALLIANCE, OH - October 6, 2012 - Mount Union men's soccer team fell in double overtime to Wilmington in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon in Mount Union stadium.

With the victory, Wilmington improves its record to 7-4-1 and 2-0-1 in the conference, while Mount Union falls to 3-6-1 and 1-2 in conference.

The Quakers are now 2-0-1 in games decided in Overtime, while the Purple Raiders fall to 1-2.

Josh Bennett (Hartville/Lake) scored his first collegiate goal to put the Purple Raiders up 1-0 in the 72nd minute, when teammate Travis Connor (Lodi/Cloverleaf) crossed the ball to the back post, and he deflected it into the net.

Drew Fields tied the game at 1, when he received a through ball from teammate Jeff Graham and put it past Raider goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney).

Sophomore Clay Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney) gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead, when he took a through ball pass from teammate Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) and netted his third goal of the season.

Drew Fields scored his second of the match and tied the game at two for the Quakers, with just over a minute remaining in the game when he buried a header, off of a cross, from aHenrik Hornaess corner kick.

Jeff Graham scored the game winner for Wilmington when he headed the ball off a corner kick in the 102nd minute.  

Lipply Gets Raiders Rolling

ALLIANCE, OH - October 2, 2012 - Sophomore Coty Lipply (Rootstown/Southeast) scored his first two goals of the year and added an assist to give Mount Union  a 3-0 victory over Marietta in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup on Tuesday night at Mount Union Stadium.

With the victory, Mount Union stands 3-5-1 on the season and evens its record in the OAC at 1-1, while Marietta falls to 4-6 and 1-1 in the conference. 

Purple Raiders senior goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) set the tone for the match in the 12th minute when he made a great diving save off of a Pioneer header that resulted from a corner kick.

Coty Lipply scored the first of his two goals in the 27th minute to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead. Lipply scored off of a rebound from Marietta goalkeeper Chris Stollar.

In the 72nd minute, Lipply put the Raiders up 2-0 when he received the ball when it struck the crossbar and was able to kick it into the back of the net.

Sophomore Austin Ferroni (Willoughby/Willoughby South) scored a dazzling goal in the 79th minute to give Mount Union a 3-0 advantage when he received a pass from Coty Lipply and fired a shot from 30 yards out into the upper left hand corner of the net. 

Jon Critell had three saves on the evening for his third shutout of the season, which extended his school record of career shutouts to 21.

Mount Union continues its stretch of three straight OAC home games with a matchup against Wilmington on Saturday Oct. 6 at 3 p.m.

Mount Men Fall in OAC Opener

ADA, OH - September 29, 2012 - Mount Union's men's soccer (2-5-1, 0-1 OAC) team lost its Ohio Athletic Conference opener to No. 18 Ohio Northern (10-2, 1-0) 2-0 Saturday afternoon.

Chris Matejka opened the scoring for the Polar Bears in the ninth minute, when he buried a free kick past Raider goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney).

Nate Bascom put Ohio Northern up 2-0 when he stole the ball off a Raider defender and shot the ball into the net.

Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) had both shots for Mount Union in the first half. Both teams committed six fouls and each took three corners.

Cameron Johnson scored the final goal of the game for the Polar Bears in the 87th minute, when he received a pass from Nate Bascom and knocked it in the goal.

The Purple Raiders return home for its next match Tuesday, Oct. 2 against Marietta with the match scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.

Mount Union Men Fall to Waynesburg

ALLIANCE, OH - September 19, 2012 - Mount Union's men's soccer team out-shot visiting Waynesburg (Pa.) 23-8 but could not find the net as the Purple Raiders lost 2-0 Wednesday night at Mount Union Stadium.

The Purple Raiders fall to 2-3-1 on the season while Waynesburg moves to 4-3 overall.

Waynesburg led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Victor Browne in the 36th minute.

Mount Union continued to generate offense in the second half as the Raiders had 14 shots in the period, but Waynesburg keeper Brandon Daughtry was up to the challenge and had six saves for the game.

James Sneed tacked on an insurance goal in the 89th minute for the 2-0 final.

The Purple Raiders were coming off a 0-0 draw with Washington & Jefferson (PA) on September 15th, a match that went into 2 overtime periods. Mount Union next plays at Allegheny (Pa.) Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 7:30 pm in Meadville, Pa.

Event Photos

MU Men Beat Anderson

DELAWARE, OH - September 8, 2012 - The Mount Union men's soccer team got an 18th minute goal by Colin Combs (Pickerington/Pickerington North) and never looked back, defeating Anderson (Ind.) 2-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Fred Myers-adidas Invitational.

Mount Union took five shots in the match's first 18 minutes, the fifth being Combs' first career goal.  After Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) missed a shot wide about a minute earlier, sophomore Chris Motley (Kent/St. Vincent-St. Mary) crossed a ball from the right side in front of the goal, where Combs was waiting to capitalize for the Raiders.  The goal gave Mount Union its first lead since the season-opener against Emory & Henry on Aug. 31.

The Raiders took four shots on goal (11 total) in the first half but Combs' score was the only goal of the half for either squad.  Raiders' senior goalie Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) did not face a shot on goal in the half, while Anderson's Chris Maloney made three saves against Mount Union's attack.

Mount Union came out firing in the second half, forcing Maloney to make two saves in the first 10 minutes.  Then, in the 56th minute, the Raiders put another tally on the board when junior Eric Ehrenberg (Salem/Cardinal Mooney) took a pass from Trocchio and shot the ball into the net.  For Ehrenberg, it was his first career goal.

Despite not scoring over the final 34 minutes of play, Critell and the Mount Union defense held Anderson off the board to secure the 2-0 victory.  The Raiders improved to 2-2 overall with the win, while Anderson dropped to 2-3.

Mount Union next takes the field one week from today in Washington, Pa., against Washington & Jefferson.

Ohio Wesleyan Slips Past Mount Union in Competitive Match

DELAWARE, OH - September 7, 2012 - The Mount Union men's soccer team played Ohio Wesleyan to a scoreless tie through 45 minutes but could not get past the defending national champion Battling Bishops, losing 2-1 on Friday night at the Fred Myers-adidas Invitational.

Despite being outshot 13-2 in the first half, the Purple Raiders did not allow a goal.  Senior goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) made five saves to keep the Battling Bishops off the scoreboard.

Mount Union took three shots (two on goal) in the first 22 minutes of the second half, but one attempt was blocked and the shots by Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) and Clay Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney) were saved by Bishops' keeper Paul Hendricks.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot the Raiders 7-5 heading into the 75th minute, when the game turned from a defensive battle to an offensive explosion.

First, the Battling Bishops posted two goals in the 75th and 77th minutes, thanks to John Stegner and Gunnar Bloecher, to make it a 2-0 game.

But in the 78th minute, Trocchio took a shot that was deflected by Hendricks right to the foot of Hicks, who then netted the Raiders' first goal of the match to cut the Bishops' lead in half.  It was the second goal of the season for the freshman Hicks.

The scoring stopped in the 78th minute, however, and the Raiders fell to the Battling Bishops 2-1.  Mount Union was able to get off only one shot, a 90th minute strike off the foot of Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) that went wide right, in the final 12 minutes of the match.  The Bishops (1-1-1) outshot the Raiders 27-10 for the night.  Critell finished with eight saves, while Hendricks posted five.

Mount Union (1-2) will play Anderson (Ind.) at 5 p.m. tomorrow night in Delaware, Ohio, to wrap up the weekend.

Mount Men Fall in OT

COLUMBUS, OH - September 2, 2012 - The Mount Union men's soccer team played its first overtime match of the season on Sunday afternoon at the Capital/Fort Rapids Invitational.

Trailing 1-0 through 45 minutes of play, freshman forward Clay Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney) squared up a pass on the right side from Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) and netted his first collegiate goal in the 50th minute.

Over the next 40 minutes of play, Mount Union took five shots but could not take the lead. The score remained 1-1 through the second half and the Purple Raiders and Tigers went to overtime. Senior Raider goalie Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) made three saves in regulation.

Mount Union outshot Wittenberg 13-3 in regulation.

Neither squad took a shot in the first overtime period.

But just 37 second into the second overtime, Wittenberg came through when Daniel Brody received a pass from Kevin Bond and netted the game-winning goal.

Mount Union fell to 1-1 with the loss, while Wittenberg improved to 2-0. The Raiders play its third game of the season on Friday (Sept. 7) at defending national champion Ohio Wesleyan.

Nice Start from MU Men

COLUMBUS, OH - August 31, 2012 - A dominating effort on both sides of the ball propelled Mount Union to a 2-0 season-opening win over Emory & Henry (Va.) at the Capital/Fort Rapids Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.

The Purple Raiders and Wasps played to a scoreless tie heading into halftime, but Mount Union had its chances in the first. In the 12th minute, sophomore midfielder Chris Motley (Kent/St. Vincent-St. Mary) rifled a shot off the crossbar. Twenty minutes later, freshman midfielder Tanner Mathews (Alliance/Marlington) posted the lone shot-on-goal in the first half but it was saved by Emory & Henry keeper Justin Spencer.

Mount Union kept the pressure on Spencer in the second half. The Wasps' keeper saved a Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) shot in the the 55th minute but the Raiders finally came through just moments later, when junior midfielder Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) posted the first Raider goal of the season, an unassisted strike from the top of the box.

In the 80th minute, Trocchio provided a much-needed insurance goal that gave the Raiders a two-goal lead.

Mount Union held Emory & Henry to just one shot, which was saved by senior keeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) in the 84th minute. The shutout marked the 17th in Critell's career, a new school record.

The Raiders (1-0) took 11 shots (five on goal). Spencer finished the match with three saves for Emory & Henry (0-1). Mount Union has now won its last two season-opening matches. The Raiders beat McDaniel (Mo.) 1-0 in 2011 and started the year 3-0.

Mount Union will next take the field on Sunday (Sept. 2) against Wittenberg. Match time from Capital is slated for 4 p.m.

Mount Union Announces 2012 Men's Soccer Schedule

ALLIANCE, OH - June 5, 2012 - The Mount Union soccer team will play just one home game in the first month of the upcoming 2012 season.

The Purple Raiders begin the season with a pair of games at the Capital/Fort Rapids Invitational at Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. They play Emory & Henry (Va.) on August 31 at 5 p.m. and Wittenberg on September 2 at 4 p.m.

A trip to Ohio Wesleyan the following weekend for the Fred Myers-adidas® Invitational will feature games against Gordon (Mass.) and Willamette (Ore.) on September 7-8. The road trip will continue with a non-conference matchup at Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) on September 15.

Mount Union will host Waynesburg (Pa.) in its home opener at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 19. The Raiders go back on the road to conclude their non-conference slate at Allegheny (Pa.) on Wednesday, September 26.

The Ohio Athletic Conference schedule starts on Saturday, Sept. 29 with a trip to Ohio Northern, which is where the Raiders' ended their season with an OAC Tournament semifinal loss.

Marietta visits Mount Union Stadium on Tuesday, October 2, which starts a season-long three-game home stand with games Saturday, October 6 against Wilmington and Wednesday, October 10 against John Carroll.

Head coach John Witkowski led Mount Union to a 10-8-2 record a year ago as the Raiders finished fourth in the OAC (4-3-2) and won its first-ever OAC Tournament game with a 1-0 decision at Wilmington. Seven starters return, led by a trio of All-OAC performers in senior goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney), junior forward Thomas Beck (Poland/Cardinal Mooney), and senior midfielder Leo Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney).