Transfers Help Men’s Soccer Team Win NCAC Title
OWU junior back Kit North is one of five transfer players on the Battling Bishop men’s soccer team. (Photo by Sara Blake)
While it’s not uncommon for college students to transfer from one institution to another, it is unusual for a program of the national stature of the Ohio Wesleyan men’s soccer team to welcome several transfers and flourish in the same season.
The Bishops have won the North Coast Athletic Conference championship and hope to make a lengthy postseason run with the help of five transfer players.
The transfers who have come over to the Bishops this season include sophomore midfielder Jacob Eganhouse, who transferred from Bowling Green State University, junior back Kit North (Cincinnati), sophomore forward Joe Beshara (Western Michigan), sophomore forward Aaron Manning (Kenyon), and sophomore forward Korey Clawson (Southern Indiana).
Freshman midfielder Colton Bloecher says the transfers have been an important part of the team’s success.
“Kit and Jake are definitely leaders. Jake is especially vocal,” Bloecher says of the transfers who have earned spots in the starting lineup. He adds that the transfers fit in perfectly, and many of them knew OWU players from high school soccer.
Eganhouse says he is glad he made the decision to come to OWU after a year at Bowling Green.
“OWU was a better fit. My high school coach went here in the early ’80s, so he kind of pushed Ohio Wesleyan. But, Coach Jay Martin is the number one reason why I came to OWU,” Eganhouse says.
The sophomore also says he knew a lot of the men on the roster from high school, and the transfers have all been integrated into the team really well.
“I couldn’t have picked a better place,” Eganhouse says.
Kit North feels the same way, although his path to OWU was different. In 2009, he started in every game forCincinnati, and played the third-most minutes on the team. After that season, he decided to transfer, but plans did not work out accordingly.
He actually decided to quit soccer in 2010, after efforts to transfer from Cincinnati fell short. But Coach Martin worked his magic once again to bring North to OWU.
“I was just blown away,” North says of Martin’s resume.
Eganhouse played in 14 games for Bowling Green last season, starting three. He scored one point on the year, an assist in a 1-0 victory, according to Bowling Green’s website.
Beshara was a two-time all-state player in high school before going on to Western Michigan for a year. At Western Michigan, he played in 13 games and scored 6 points, including 2 goals, according to his former player bio.
Clawson played at Southern Indiana for a year, starting in 8 games while playing 15. He scored 7 points last year as a freshman, including 3 assists according toSouthern Indiana’s soccer page.
Manning played at Kenyon, becoming a solid contributor on offense with multiple goals scored on the year.
Now that the Bishops have achieved their goal of winning the NCAC title, the team’s path continues Saturday when Ohio Wesleyan hosts the NCAC tournament championship game, with the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA DivisionIIItournament on the line.