Lancaster Bible College Men's Soccer tied with Grove City on the road in an out-of-conference game to kick off both teams' 2023 seasons. This starts both the Chargers and the Wolverines off with a 0-0-1 record.
 
How It Happened: The Chargers came out strong in their season debut and earned a penalty kick just over eight minutes into the match. Sophomore defender Andrew Schwartz took the kick for Lancaster Bible, but the Wolverine's goalkeeper Teddy Almeter came out with an impressive save. The Chargers did not let up on the Wolverine's defense, and the team kept up the pressure getting three corner kicks and three shots in just the first fifteen minutes. As the teams battled on, Lancaster Bible's defense held strong allowing only three shots in the first half, none of which were on goal, and the teams left at the 45-minute mark tied 0-0.
 
To open the second half with some intensity, Senior forward Owen Nell put the first point on the scoreboard for Lancaster Bible this season. Just a few minutes later, the reigning United East Rookie of the Year Andrew Cox got his first shot of the game on target, but Almeter got his hands on another Chargers' shot. Colton Hudson got the Wolverines' first shot on goal in the match, but sophomore goalkeeper Richie Lockard got his first save in a Lancaster Bible uniform. Both sides continued to put pressure on the other, but in the 82^nd minute, Aidan Eck tied the game up for Grove City. Despite some late pushes from each side, no team could break the tie, and the final score remained a 1-1 tie.
 
From the Coach: "The first half I thought we were solid, and we had several good chances. Credit to Grove City for putting us under pressure in the second half. We defended compactly at times really well, but as the game wore on, we struggled to build anything significant going forward. It was good for several freshmen tonight to get some experience and get their first game under their belts." - Head Coach Tom Ardt 
 
By the Numbers: The Chargers were able to spread the ball well with seven different players getting a shot, however, only Andrew Schwartz, Andrew Cox, Owen Nell, and Nate Siers could get it on the net. Richie Lockard came out with two saves in his Charger's debut. On the other side, the Wolverines had 11 shots with just three of them being on goal. Aidan Eck led the team with two shots, and his one shot on goal met the back of the net. Grove City goalkeeper Teddy Almeter saved three shots.
 
Information to Know: This was just the second match in history that the Chargers and Wolverines have faced off, and the last time the two teams met, Grove City got the best of Lancaster Bible winning 1-0. With the team's lone goal, Owen Nell now has 15 goals in his Charger's career.
 
Up Next: The Chargers men's soccer team will get on the road again as they play at Geneva at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 2nd.