HIRAM, Ohio – October 9, 2024 – Hiram hung tough against a talented Wooster soccer team on Wednesday evening, netting their first conference goal of the season and holding the opposition scoreless in the second half of what ultimately shaped out to be a 3-1 loss at Henry Field.

Wooster opened the scoring with a goal from Elliot Miller in the 12^th minute, which was swiftly answered by Hiram on a flurry of shots from the offense. Bedo Kusuni and Carmine Boscarello both had fast-paced shots denied by the defense before Erik Rangel Negrete found an opening and laced a shot past the opposition to level the score, 1-1.

It marked Rangel Negrete's third goal of the campaign, which matches Jayden Julian (three goals in 2023) for the most goals by a Hiram freshman in a single season over the last five seasons. The first-year from Norwalk, Ohio has now scored on three of his six shots on goal this year.

Wooster scored the final two goals in the first half on a pair of shots in and around the box, with Griffin Thornton scoring in the 30^th minute and Miller returning to the stat sheet in the 34^th minute. For Miller, it marked his first multi-goal performance of the 2024 campaign.

The second half was more of a defensive battle, with sophomore Tyler Jurgensen adding to his seven-save day and the Hiram defense holding the Fighting Scots to just four shots during that span. The Terriers held the advantage in shots (7-4), corner kicks (3-2) and saves (3-2) over the last 45 minutes.

Hiram will remain home and look to win its first conference match of the season on Saturday, when the Terriers host the Wabash Little Giants at 4:30 p.m. from Henry Field in Hiram, Ohio.