Men’s Soccer

The Case Western Reserve University men’s soccer team moved to 5-0-1 on the season with a strong week on DiSanto Field. On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the Spartans dominated Oberlin College 3-0, scoring all 3 goals in the first half. Third-year midfielder Ohta Kamiya opened the scoring with a penalty in the 10th minute, followed by third-year midfielder Adam Pluszczyk five minutes later and second-year midfielder Owen Guffey, who scored his first collegiate goal, capped the half.

On Saturday, Sept. 13, the Spartans battled The College of Wooster to a 1-1 draw. Pluszczyk scored in the 18th minute, but Wooster equalized off a corner with only seven minutes remaining in the game.

CWRU bounced back quickly on Sunday, Sept. 14, defeating Allegheny College 5-0. Senior co-captain and goalkeeper Bradley Winter recorded his 17th career shutout, setting a new program record. Five Spartans scored, including second-year forward Amir Awais, fourth-year midfielder Camden Larson, Kamiya, first-year midfielder Micah Rossen and third-year midfielder Sean Wilson, who capped the decisive victory.

The Spartans hit the road on Wednesday, Sept. 17, to face Marietta College, where they delivered another commanding performance. A 3-0 victory over the Pioneers not only secured the win but also added to Winter’s newly set shutout record, bringing his career total to 18.

The Spartans will next be sent on the road to face Kenyon College on Sept. 20.

Football

On Saturday, Sept. 13, the CWRU football team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 28-38 to Wabash College.

The Spartans entered the matchup coming off a weather-shortened 17-17 draw at Rowan University the previous week, and once again were forced to battle through delays. Kickoff against Wabash was pushed back an hour due to storms, and the game was later interrupted by two more lightning stoppages. With the Wabash stadium lacking lights, play eventually resumed several hours later at nearby Crawfordsville High School.

Despite the interruptions, the game remained tightly contested. Wabash struck first with an early touchdown, but CWRU rallied to take the lead at halftime with 2 touchdowns from third-year quarterback Sam DeTillio and a touchdown from second-year defensive back Jack Kavcic. The teams were deadlocked 21-21 at the end of the third quarter, before Wabash pulled ahead with a field goal and 2 touchdowns to make it 38-21 with under five minutes remaining. The Spartans cut into the deficit with a late touchdown by third-year wide receiver Liam O’Brien at the 1:05 mark, but their onside kick attempt was recovered by the Little Giants, who ran out the clock to secure the win.

The game marked DeTillio’s first start of his career.  He completed 13-of-19 passes for 176 yards while running the ball 17 times for a team-high 40 yards and 2 touchdowns.

CWRU will look to rebound when they open PAC conference play in their home opener against Westminster College on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. on DiSanto Field.

Volleyball

On Friday, Sept. 12, the CWRU volleyball team played in the Muskie Invitational, facing Muskingum University, Mount St. Joseph University and No. 15-ranked Marietta College.

The Spartans opened the day against host Muskingum, battling through a full five-set match. CWRU took the first set after a clutch kill from fourth-year co-captain and blocker Amanda Ngo, but Muskingum responded to take the next two sets. The Spartans rallied in the fourth set and, with key plays from fourth-year blocker Kiya Levy and fourth-year co-captain and outside hitter Kalli Wall, secured a 3-2 victory in the decisive fifth set.

Next, CWRU faced Mount St. Joseph, winning in four sets. After taking the first two sets, the Spartans dropped the third 25-20 following a late run by the Lions. In the fourth, Wall’s back-to-back kills helped CWRU pull ahead, and an attacking error by Mount St. Joseph sealed the match.

Later that afternoon, the Spartans fell to Marietta College in straight sets. Despite keeping the first two sets close, trailing 28-27 in the second, CWRU couldn’t recover. Marietta dominated the third set to finish the sweep.

The Spartans moved to 4-8 on the season, and will next compete in the 45th Annual Ohio Northern University Invitation Sept. 19-20 in Ada, Ohio.

Men’s Tennis

This past weekend, the CWRU men’s tennis team competed in both the Youngstown State University Invitational and the Denison University Invitational, splitting the roster to send equal numbers of players to each event.

At the YSU Invitational, which featured CWRU, Youngstown State, Division I programs Duquesne University and Xavier University, and Division II Edinboro University, the Spartans went 14-11 in singles and 3-5 in doubles. Fourth-year JT Bilski and second-year Jon Totorica both went 2-1 in singles, reaching the ‘A’ draw quarterfinals, while first-year Shay Gupta advanced to the finals of the ‘C’ draw, finishing 2-1.

Meanwhile, at the Denison Invitational, a round-robin event with DePauw University, Carnegie Mellon University, Kenyon, and Denison, CWRU posted a 29-11 singles record and 9-8 in doubles. Five Spartans, including first-years Ben Fernandez and Ethan Jacob, second-year Rohit Jain, and third-years Santiago Salazar Garza and Derek Shiffer, went undefeated in singles. Third-year Trey Lambright also went 3-0 in doubles, teaming with graduate student Bryce Ware for a perfect 2-0 record.

Combined, the Spartans went 43-22 in singles and 12-13 in doubles across both Invitationals. CWRU will next split the team again for the Everybody vs. Cancer Rocket Invite (Sept. 19-21) hosted by the University of Toledo, and the Blue and Gold Invitational (Sept. 20) hosted by Allegheny College.