It was a chilly night in Berea, Ohio when the Heidelberg University Student Princes took the field to battle the Yellow Jackets of Baldwin Wallace University. Under the lights at Finnie Stadium, the two opposing squads fought tenaciously for 90 minutes. Heidelberg came out on top, 1-0.
With the victory, head coach Dr. Brian Haley claimed his 100th Ohio Athletic Conference win. Haley’s career OAC record now stands at 100-90-27 spanning over two decades.
“It doesn’t seem any different,” said Haley. “To be honest, I’m more interested in how Heidelberg plays and how the team does, but it does feel good to achieve this milestone,” he added.
Ironically, Haley’s 100th career win came against Baldwin Wallace back in 1999.
In his tenure, Haley has already surpassed all of his predecessors as the winningest coach in the program’s history. Haley guided Heidelberg to the only regular season OAC Conference Championship, in 2010, and has accumulated over 200 overall victories.
The match against Baldwin Wallace could have finished as just another OAC matchup, between two teams that have met numerous times before. Instead, the Heidelberg men’s soccer team played inspired, making October 9, 2012, a historical date for the Heidelberg men’s soccer program.
The first half was filled with scoring opportunities for both teams, but neither team could find a go-ahead goal.
Despite the Yellow Jackets out shooting the Berg, 16 to 12, goalkeeper Matthew Stevens (South Lyon, MI) was too resilient. Stevens recorded four saves against Baldwin Wallace. In 2012, Stevens has amassed 53 saves and four shutouts.
In the 49th minute, Heidelberg nabbed the lone goal of the contest.
Freshman Christopher Koczak (Springboro) netted the Heidelberg goal when Nico Samaneigo (Huron) sent a cross in front of the net. The goal marks Koczak’s sixth of the season.
“I believe we’ve got a potent strike force and goals can come from anywhere on this team, said Haley. “They all creates chances for each other and they all help each other out on the pitch, so when one guy gets knocked out of the play, there is someone there to step up.”
Sophomores Tyler Eoff (Oak Harbor) and Hamid Shariff (Columbus/Centennial) tallied five shots, three of which were on goal and one shot on goal for the Student Princes, respectively.
“Every game is a different challenge,” said Haley. “Tonight, we executed our game plan well and we will go home, work on a new game plan and prepare for Otterbein.”
The Heidelberg men will take on Otterbein on Saturday, October 9, in Westerville. Kickoff between the Cardinals and the Student Princes is slated for 3:30 p.m.