RICHMOND, Ind. - Only one game remains in the North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey regular season, and the Wittenberg Tigers are in a dead heat with the College of Wooster for first place, both picking up wins Wednesday night and both owners of 9-2 NCAC records. The Tigers did their part to stay in the race with a 3-1 win at Earlham to move to 11-4 overall.
Wittenberg and Wooster each have one more game to go, the Tigers facing Oberlin at home at 2 p.m. on Oct. 31, and Wooster taking on Kenyon at Noon the same day. Oberlin, at 1-8 in the NCAC, is in last place, while Kenyon stands in the middle of the pack with a 4-5 conference record. Should both Wooster and Wittenberg win their final contests, the two will tie for the regular season title.
Wittenberg has already secured home-field advantage for the NCAC Tournament semifinals and no worse than a second-place regular season finish, distanced from third-place Denison by a sturdy three-game lead.
In Wednesday's action, sophomore forward Elizabeth Dwyer (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue) led the winning effort by bringing home two goals. Junior forward Tori Casanta (Mason, Ohio/Cor Jesu Academy) scored the team's other goal.
In support, junior defender Kelley Herde (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) assisted on two goals, and freshman forward Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill)assisted the other. Herde also helped at the other end, tallying one defensive save, while junior defender Meredith Price (Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Country Day) also earned one defensive save.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Schaafsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) had her best game of her career, allowing just one goal and making a career-high 16 saves.
Written by: John Strawn '07