Erin Guiliano
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Two Wittenberg players netted hat tricks and the Tigers kept the visiting Trine field hockey team from attempting a shot on the way to a 12-0 shutout win over the Thunder, setting or tying three program records to improve to 3-3 on the season.
The Tiger offense produced 12 goals Wednesday evening, good enough to break the program's single-game record of 11 set one year ago at Earlham on Sept. 15 in an 11-1 rout. That game tied the team's record for margin of victory at 10, another record broken Wednesday by the Tigers.
Wittenberg scored in the double-digits three times in a three-week period in 2010, nearly matching the four double-digit scoring totals the team had in it's 31-year history as a varsity sport at the time.
On the other side of the field, senior goalkeepers Jenny Schaafsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) and Alyssa Ashbaugh (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus School For Girls) had an easy night as Trine, whose team is in it's infancy as a second-year program, could not get close enough to make a shot. Schaafsma spent just under 25 minutes in front of net, giving way to Ashbaugh late in the first half.
The Tiger defense equaled the program record for fewest shots allowed, although the exact date of the last occurence is unknown. The last shot shutout occured prior 2002, when computerized statistics became mainstream at the NCAA Division III level.
For the Tiger offense, senior Elizabeth Dwyer (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue) led the scoring with four goals, earning her a part of a seven-way tie for fourth in the Tiger record books for single-game goals scored. The last four-goal game came off the stick of Tori Casanta, a 2011 graduate of the program, who notched the feat on Oct. 1, 2008, as part of a 5-1 home win over Earlham.
Dwyer also picked up two assists in the match, helping freshman Beth Warning (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) earn a hat trick of their own and also feeding junior Erin Guiliano (Loveland, Ohio/Kings) for one goal.
The three other Tiger goals were provided by junior Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill), freshman Alena Mohler (Winston-Salem, NC/Reagan) and freshman Kelly McLean (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook South).
Wittenberg compiled 12 goals and six assists on 46 shots throughout the night. Besides Dwyer's two assists, Morrissey and Warning each picked up one, as did senior Darcey Caciano (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) and freshman Audrey Phibbs (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who led the team with 12 shots.
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 24, in a North Coast Athletic Conference matchup at Kenyon College, beginning at 4:30 p.m. at McBride Field in Gambier, Ohio. Kenyon College Sports Information will be providing live statistics and live video for the game.
John Strawn '07