Darcey Caciano
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers came up with a clutch 2-1 victory over visiting Kenyon to take sole possession of third place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings.
The Tigers improved to 9-7 overall, but more importantly they now stand 7-5 in the NCAC and alone in third place behind front-runners DePauw and Denison. Kenyon dropped to 6-10 overall and 6-6 in the NCAC, good for a fourth-place tie with defending NCAC Tournament champion Wooster.
Kenyon, Wooster and Wittenberg all have two games remaining in the regular season. The Tigers cap the campaign with home games against DePauw, which has not lost an NCAC game yet, and the arch-rival Scots.
The Tigers put themselves in position for a strong stretch run with a strong second half performance against the Ladies, starting with an unassisted goal from senior Elizabeth Dwyer (St. Louis, Mo./LaDue) just 1:27 after halftime. After Kenyon tied the game just over four minutes later, Wittenberg senior Darcey Caciano (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) came up with perhaps the biggest goal of her collegiate career, the unassisted game-winner with just 4:02 left on the clock.
Wittenberg outshot Kenyon 10-6 in the game as the Tigers' defense turned in an oustanding performance. Senior goalkeeper Jenny Schaafsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) was forced into three saves, matching the total recorded by Kenyon's defense (two by the goalkeeper and one defensive save).