DELAWARE, Ohio - It wasn't quite deja vu all over again for the Wittenberg Tigers, but the final score was identical as they lost to Ohio Wesleyan by a 2-1 score for the second time in the 2008 season.
The Tigers, who dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to OWU on Sept. 10 in Springfield, are now 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with the loss, while the Battling Bishops improved to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in the conference.
After falling behind on an Ohio Wesleyan goal less than five minutes into the contest, the Tigers rallied to tie it at one on a goal by sophomore forward Tori Casanta (Mason, Ohio/Cor Jesu Academy) off a feed from sophomore midfielder Kelley Herde (Louisville, Ky./Assumption). The play was set up by a long run upfield by Herde, who fed Casanta for a deflection into the corner of the cage.
Defensively, the Tigers picked up four saves from sophomore goalkeeper Liana Began (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and defensive saves from seniors Whitney Marshall (Barre, Mass./Quabbin Regional) and Beth Vonderbrink (Cincinnati, Ohio/). The final shots margin of 19-8 was deceiving, as few of the Bishop shots off their 13 penalty corners went on goal, in part thanks to a fine game played by sophomore defender Meredith Price (Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Country Day), according to Head Coach Diana Goggins.
The Tigers have little margin for error heading into a busy Homecoming week that starts with a home game against Denison at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 7. After stepping out of conference for a home game against Houghton on Friday, Oct. 10, the Tigers then hit the road to square off with NCAC rival Oberlin on Saturday, Oct. 11.