SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - For the first time in 2009, the Wittenberg Tigers were held without a goal, and the result was a 1-0 overtime loss to Ohio Wesleyan in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament semifinals.
The Tigers, ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region earlier in the day, dropped to 12-5 overall and now must hope the NCAA Division III Tournament selection committee looks favorably upon their fine regular season work. Ohio Wesleyan improved to 10-8 overall and advanced to the NCAC Tournament championship game at Wooster on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Wittenberg, seeded No. 2 in the tournament after sharing the NCAC regular season title with Wooster at 10-2, never mustered a serious threat on the Bishops' goal. Ohio Wesleyan's defense was stifling, rarely allowing the Tiger offense to break free in the midfield - unlike the two regular season games between the teams, both won by Wittenberg by a combined 7-2 score.
At the other end, Ohio Wesleyan only managed a handful of legitimate scoring opportunities as well, but they were stoned time and again during regulation by sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Schaafsma (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids), who had six saves, and junior defender Kelley Herde (Louisville, Ky./Assumption), who contributed a pair of defensive saves.
That was until the overtime period started. Ohio Wesleyan started with possession of the ball, moved it quickly through the midfield and after initially being turned away near the Wittenberg end broke in on the left side. A through ball by Abby Walsh was finished by Macie Miller just 32 seconds into the extra session of 7-on-7 action.
For the game, Wittenberg was outshot 11-6 and OWU benefited from seven penalty corner opportunities to five for the Tigers.