WOOSTER, Ohio — Not only did the Wittenberg field hockey team settle a score by handing Wooster a 3-2 overtime loss on Saturday following a home loss to the Scots earlier in the season, the Tigers booted Wooster from their first-place tie with Kenyon and moved into sole possession of second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).
The Tigers, 4-1 in the NCAC and 7-2 overall following the win, fell to Wooster 3-1 on Saturday, Sept. 11, representing Wittenberg's only loss so far and the only obstacle separating them from first place in the league.
After completing regulation time in a 2-2 tie, the Tigers and Scots headed to overtime with the game in the balance. In the 7-on-7 period, both teams had looks at the cage, with both Wittenberg goalkeeping junior Jenny Schaafsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) and the Wooster netminder facing and stopping three shots.
The last shot that Fighting Scot goalkeeper Liz Plumley faced came a split second before the one shot she could not stop. After five minutes of overtime action, senior forward Boo Vernon (Lake Bluff, Ill./Cushing Academy) had a shot turned away, but the ball crept past Plumley and settled behind her, just outside of the goal mouth. While the Scot defense searched for its location, senior Tori Casanta (Mason, Ohio/Cor Jesu) tracked it down and pushed it in for the win.
Throughout the course of regulation play, the Tigers and Scots traded goals. Wittenberg opened scoring in the first period when Vernon acquired a loose ball and found the cage 12:25 into the game. The 1-0 lead lasted until 13 minutes into the second period, when Wooster All-American Amanda Artman tied the game on a penalty stroke.
The Tigers again went ahead by a goal 10 minutes later when junior Taylor Dawley (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) scored on a Vernon assist, but just 40 seconds later Artman struck again to even it up. The final 10 minutes of the game passed without event to send the contest into the extra period.
Schaafsma finished the game with eight saves, while senior defender Meredith Price (Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Country Day) stepped in to stop a shot late in the second period, earning a defensive save while keeping her team in position to take the game.
The Tigers continue NCAC action with a road trip to Gambier, Ohio, on Tuesday, Oct. 5, to face the Kenyon Ladies and take a shot at a tie for the conference lead.
John Strawn '07