SYLVAN LAKE, Fla. — The Wittenberg Tigers may have been down after their season-opening loss to RPI on Wednesday, but they did the best possible thing in response - bounce back with a convincing win over a quality opponent. Wittenberg closed out its annual Spring Break trip with an 18-7 victory over the University of New England.
The biggest news of the day was the Tigers' biggest offensive outburst in Head Coach George Harris' two-season tenure at Wittenberg. The Tigers ended the 2006 season with back-to-back 16-point outings, but they scored early and often in evening their record at 1-1 on the young season.
Junior Jon Van Vranken (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) led the way with a career-high five goals. He had plenty of help, however, particularly from a trio of first-year student-athletes. Freshman Tim Gates (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) added three goals and two assists, while freshmen Brian Welton (Germantown, Tenn./Houston) and Jeff Capella (Worthington, Ohio/Kilbourne) contributed matching totals of two goals and one assist.
In goal, senior Pat Garlock (Columbus, Ohio/St. Charles) came up with 11 saves.
The Tigers have a week off before the season really gets under way with a home game against Oberlin. The Yeomen will open the North Coast Athletic Conference portion of the schedule, with the first faceoff slated for noon at Edwards-Maurer Field.