GAMBIER, Ohio — Wabash College stayed within a goal midway through the opening quarter, but Kenyon used a decisive seven-goal second period to pull away for a 15-5 North Coast Athletic Conference victory Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped the Little Giants to 2-11 overall and 0-5 in NCAC play, while the Owls improved to 9-5 overall and remained unbeaten in the league at 5-0.
Kenyon struck first at the 8:04 mark of the opening quarter when Alex Haag scored the game's first goal. Wabash answered less than a minute later as Grayson McCallum finished a feed from Christian Dybedock at 7:10 to tie the match at 1-1.
The Owls seized control late in the period. Haag scored again with 2:03 left off an assist from David Chintala, then Mike Kapral and Chintala added goals 9 seconds apart in the final 45 seconds to give Kenyon a 4-1 lead after one.
The second quarter proved decisive. Kenyon scored twice in the opening 28 seconds after a Wabash penalty, with Chintala converting the man-up opportunity at 12:36 before adding another goal four seconds later. Haag, Chintala, Henry Wooster, and Gavin Gumucio all scored during the period as the Owls built an 11-1 advantage. Wabash broke the run in the closing second of the half when Luca Flaim scooped up a rebound and scored unassisted with 0:01 remaining to trim the margin to 11-2 at halftime.
Kenyon opened the third quarter with a goal from Tanner Lewis just 55 seconds in, but Wabash answered at 11:57 when Austin Clark scored unassisted. After Chintala pushed the lead back to 13-3, the Little Giants got another spark from Will Kerker, who scored off Dybedock's second assist of the day at 7:05. Kenyon added a man-up goal from Lewis late in the quarter to carry a 14-4 lead into the final 15 minutes.
The Owls added one final goal in the fourth quarter on Finley Radding's score with 2:48 to play before Wabash closed the scoring in the final minute. David Finestad scored off an assist from Zach McMichael with 38 seconds remaining for the 15-5 final.
Dybedock led the Little Giants with two assists, while McCallum, Flaim, Kerker, Clark, and Finestad each scored once. Jake Pippen put three of his four shots on goal, and Sam Santiago led Wabash with five shots. McCallum added four shots with two on target.
Goalkeeper Colin Krekeler kept Wabash within striking distance early, finishing with 18 saves over 60 minutes. Monty Atkins paced the Little Giants with four ground balls, while Flaim added three ground balls and a caused turnover.
Kenyon held major advantages in nearly every team category, outshooting Wabash 63-30, winning the ground-ball battle 43-21, and dominating faceoffs 20-24 to 4-24. The Owls also converted 2 of 3 extra-man opportunities, while Wabash did not earn a man-up chance. The Little Giants were solid in clears, finishing 19 of 20, but committed 22 turnovers in the defeat.
Wabash returns to action next Tuesday, April 24, traveling to Springfield, Ohio, for another NCAC road contest at Wittenberg.
