Tiffin, Ohio – October 30, 2010 - The Heidelberg University men’s soccer team, under the guidance of head coach Brian Haley, wins its first Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title in the program’s history as it defeated Wilmington College with a score of 3-0.
The win gives Heidelberg the number one seed in the upcoming OAC Tournament, which in turn hands the Berg home field advantage and a quarterfinal round bye.
“There have been a lot of great teams at Heidelberg but this one got us over the hump and eventually made history," said Haley. “We talked about being champions and what it takes. Congratulations to them. I knew it would come, I just didn’t know it would take 22 years. “
Previously, Heidelberg owned three runner-up finishes from the 1996, 1999, and 2007 campaigns, but the elusive regular season title never found a home on Heidelberg’s campus until now.
In the first half, sophomore Grant Beck (Roanoke, Texas / Keller) scored the first point of the game in the 17th minute when he received a well-executed cross from junior Michael Juart (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Darby). Junior Mike Harling (Manchester, New England / Holy Cross) started the play with a nice ball from midfield.
Adding insurance in the 29th and 33rd minute of the first half was Harling who scored off two heads up plays off rebounds.
“I’m [excited], “said Harling after the game. “Especially for the [seniors] that are leaving. That’s we as a team came for today. That was our goal. We just did what we did all year and proved that we are the best OAC team in the league.”
Heidelberg’s offense dominated all game including an 18-6 shot advantage over the Quakers.
Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Smith (Roanoke, Texas / Keller) registered three stops on the day.