Men’s soccer team opens season with 3-2 loss to Ohio Northern

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's soccer team opened its 2015 season with a tough 3-2 loss to Ohio Northern University today at the Cutler Athletic Complex.

The Comets jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 15th minute when freshman Alistair Law scored off a pass from junior Gregory Petty and freshman Donald Robertson. The Polar Bears netted the equalizer in the 26th minute. Olivet took a 2-1 halftime lead behind a goal by Petty in the 34th minute. Ohio Northern committed a foul just outside the box. Law served the ball into the box, and Petty finished his shot inside the goal at the near post.

The Polar Bears leveled the score in the ninth minute of the second half when they converted a penalty kick. Ohio Northern then took the lead for the first time on a goal less than two minutes later. The Comets had a couple chances to score the game-tying goal but was denied each time by the Polar Bear keeper.

Olivet finished the game with 11 total shots, placing nine on-goal. Petty led the way with four shots. From his defensive position, sophomore Vince Geremia had two headers, which were saved. Senior Ryan Grashik played the first 75 minutes in goal and collected four saves. Freshman Noah Thelen completed the game in net and had one save.

"It was a tough loss for us today," said Olivet Head Coach Dan Bulley. "The boys gave it their all and did great to go up 1-0 and 2-1 through great connections between Ali Law and Greg Petty. You have to give credit to Ohio Northern for how they fought back, and I thought they handled the hot conditions slightly better than us and deserved to win the game.

"We went ahead at halftime with a deserved 2-1 lead after looking comfortable. Ohio Northern came out hungry in the second half and scored twice in quick succession. I want to give a big congratulations to the freshmen players who made their debuts today and a special shout out to senior goalkeeper Ryan Grashik for keeping us in the game."

The Comets return to the pitch Thursday afternoon when they host University of Chicago. Game time is set for 4 p.m

"We have another tough game on Thursday," said Bulley. "We like to put ourselves up against some strong competition in these non-conference games because they will help us in our preparation for conference play. Overall, I was very impressed with our lads today."