DELAWARE, Ohio -- The Mount Union men's soccer team played Ohio Wesleyan to a scoreless tie through 45 minutes but could not get past the defending national champion Battling Bishops, losing 2-1 on Friday night at the Fred Myers-adidas Invitational.

Despite being outshot 13-2 in the first half, the Purple Raiders did not allow a goal.  Senior goalkeeper Jon Critell (Youngstown/Cardinal Mooney) made five saves to keep the Battling Bishops off the scoreboard.

Mount Union took three shots (two on goal) in the first 22 minutes of the second half, but one attempt was blocked and the shots by Joey Trocchio (Ravenna/Rootstown) and Clay Hicks (Leetonia/Cardinal Mooney) were saved by Bishops' keeper Paul Hendricks.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot the Raiders 7-5 heading into the 75th minute, when the game turned from a defensive battle to an offensive explosion.

First, the Battling Bishops posted two goals in the 75th and 77th minutes, thanks to John Stegner and Gunnar Bloecher, to make it a 2-0 game.

But in the 78th minute, Trocchio took a shot that was deflected by Hendricks right to the foot of Hicks, who then netted the Raiders' first goal of the match to cut the Bishops' lead in half.  It was the second goal of the season for the freshman Hicks.

The scoring stopped in the 78th minute, however, and the Raiders fell to the Battling Bishops 2-1.  Mount Union was able to get off only one shot, a 90th minute strike off the foot of Chris Felker (Boardman/Cardinal Mooney) that went wide right, in the final 12 minutes of the match.  The Bishops (1-1-1) outshot the Raiders 27-10 for the night.  Critell finished with eight saves, while Hendricks posted five.

Mount Union (1-2) will play Anderson (Ind.) at 5 p.m. tomorrow night in Delaware, Ohio, to wrap up the weekend.

                          Soccer Game Summary (Final)
                         2012 Mount Union Men's Soccer
       Mount Union vs Ohio Wesleyan (Sep 7, 2012 at Delaware, Ohio, USA)


 Mount Union (1-2-0) vs. Ohio Wesleyan (1-1-1)
 Date: Sep 7, 2012   Attendance: 1051
 Weather: overcast, 72 F

 Goals by period       1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 Mount Union...........  0  1 -  1
 Ohio Wesleyan.......  0  2 -  2
 
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.  74:00 OWUM Jon Stegner (unassisted) - Slow roller inside R post
  2.  76:00 OWUM Gunnar Bloecher (Ben Witkoff) - Center from R side, finish in middle
  3.  77:04 MTU Clay Hicks (Joey Trocchio) - 2 shot, save, scores on rebound

 Shots: Mount Union 10, Ohio Wesleyan 27
 Saves: Mount Union 8 (Jon Critell 8), Ohio Wesleyan 5 (Paul Hendricks
 5)
 first round of the Fred Myers/adidas Invitational.