The battle of the top-two soccer squads in the North Coast Athletic Conference Saturday afternoon concluded with a 2-1 double overtime loss for second-place Wabash to league leader Oberlin at Fischer Field.
 
Oberlin's Brian James scored the game-winning goal one minute into the second overtime to keep the 17^th-ranked Yeomen (10-1-1, 3-0-0 perfect on the season at conference play.
 
Oberlin broke the stalemate in the ninth minute of the match when Timothy Williams poured in a shot off a pass from Trenton Bulucea. The Little Giants outshot the Yeomen, and seemingly outplayed Oberlin throughout the first half. Wabash went into halftime down 1-0. The Little Giants were unable to find the back of the net in the first half, with four of the eight total shots in the period going on goal.
 
Both teams traded offensive punches once again throughout the second period. The Little Giants continued to outshoot Oberlin in the second-half and finally broke through in the 81^st minute. Nikola Kajmakoski found the back of the net off a Riley Pelton assist to even the game at 1-1.
 
In the first overtime, both teams continued to battle it out. When neither team could break the tie in the first 10-minute overtime, the game moved to the second overtime. One minute into the second extra period, James put a foot to the ball in the box and drove the shot into the net for te win.
 
Wabash finished the game outshooting Oberlin 12-9, and played a much more physical game.

"We learned that the teams that are ranked in the country find ways to put away games," Wabash head coach Chris Keller said. "I saw a mature team at Ohio Wesleyan, but I felt like today we were flat. We played well enough to maybe win, but I didn't think we played our best soccer."
 
Wabash (6-4-2, 1-1-1 NCAC) travels to Granville, Ohio to battle the Denison Big Red in an NCAC matchup on Tuesday. The Little Giants' next home game is October 15, when they play host to the Hiram Terriers at 1 pm.