SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg field hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision Saturday afternoon at Edwards-Maurer Field, falling to the national second-ranked Salisbury Sea Gulls despite a stiff defensive stand in the first half. The Tigers fell to 5-3 overall, while the Sea Gulls improved to 8-1.
The Tigers limited Salisbury's high-powered offense to just one goal before the break, trailing only 1-0 at halftime. Overall, the Tigers shot four times compared to Salisbury's 26 shots. Tiger sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Schaafsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) picked up 11 saves while defending the cage, while junior defender Meredith Price (Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Country Day) tacked on a defensive save.
Junior forward Boo Vernon (Lake Bluff, Ill./Cushing Academy) scored the Tigers' goal unassisted, getting some help with a deflection from a Salisbury defender 20 minutes into the second half.
Salisbury got off to a quick start with a goal just 16 minutes into the game, but the Tigers kept the powerhouse team scoreless the rest of the half. The Sea Gulls added two goals within the first six minutes of the second half, and tacked on their fourth and fifth goals within the last 21 minutes of the game.
The Tigers return to action on Oct. 3 at North Coast Athletic Conference-member Oberlin in a 3 p.m. game.
Written by: John Strawn '07