COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Capital University men's soccer team returned home to Bernlohr Stadium on Saturday night and played host to Wittenberg University. The Comets enjoyed being back home by handing the Tigers their first loss of the season via a 3-1 score.
Capital is now 4-1 overall on the season while Wittenberg drops to 3-1-2 on the year.
At halftime of the game, Capital men's soccer paid a recognition to Wittenberg head coach Dwight Burgess. Burgess coached Capital men's and women's soccer from 2000 to 2010 and was a multi-time Coach of the Year and OAC Champion. His accomplishments led to his induction into the Capital University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. Tonight marked his first game back to Bernlohr Stadium since his induction.
The Comets went ahead in just the ninth minute of the game as
Devon Hess was the benefactor to a great midfield move.
Jarrett Puckett played a pass centrally that connected with
Tony Epstein. Epstein then played a ball to the corner to
Derrick Harris. Harris's left-footed cross was then settled into the back of the net by Hess. Epstein and Harris were credited with assists on the play.
The one goal lead held into the break as both teams remained rather calm on the offensive end the duration of the half.
The restart was almost immediately met with a second Comet goal as
Derrick Harris netted his second goal of the season just 41 seconds into the second half.
Jack Kossoudji gathered the ball near midfield and out-paced the Wittenberg defense, before sliding the ball across to Harris who tapped the ball past the Tiger goalie.
Wittenberg halved the deficit in the 66th minute with a goal from Nick Harding.
Despite allowing Witt back in the game, the Comets offense regrouped and re-established their two goal edge thanks to a penalty kick from
Jack Francisco. Francisco got on the end of a long ball by
Colton Daugherty and was fouled by Jackson Miller. It was Francisco's second penalty goal of the season.
With the two goal cushion, Capital cruised the final 15 minutes to claim the 3-1 win. The win marked the third time this season the Comets have scored three or more goals in a game.
Ethan Ogden handled two saves in the Capital net, while his counterpart Peter Adams made five saves for the Tigers.
UP NEXT
Capital will travel to Oberlin College on Wednesday, September 20th for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
