SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - After trailing nearly the entire game and down 12-9 early in the fourth quarter, the Wittenberg men's lacrosse team never stopped fighting against Adrian Saturday afternoon at Edwards-Maurer Field. The Tigers mounted an impressive five-goal run in the final stanza to overtake the Bulldogs and end up the victors in a 14-13 thriller, moving to 5-2 on the season.
After closing the third quarter down 11-9, the Tigers faced a three-goal deficit after Adrian netted one two minutes in. Over the next 12 minutes, Wittenberg scored five unanswered goals to go up 14-12 and take the final lead. Adrian attempted to recover the lead they had held from the outset, but could only convert one more in the closing seconds to bring the final margin to 14-13.
Junior attackman Matt Snider (Cookeville, Tenn./Cookeville) started the game-winning rally with a goal off a feed from senior midfielder Mike Derrenberger (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) to bring the Tigers within two, a deficit the team faced multiple times throughout the game. Of the seven times the Tigers came within two goals, Adrian took off again five of them. At various times, the Tigers found themselves down 2-0, 4-2, 6-4, 7-5, 9-7, 11-9 and 12-10. Wittenberg did tie it once at 4-4 in the second quarter, but otherwise trailed all the way until the fourth.
Despite the constant ebbs and flows of momentum, the Tigers continued fighting into the fourth. After Snider's goal to start the rally, junior attacker Matt Lord (Pickerington, Ohio/North) scored back-to-back goals on assists from Snider and junior midfielder Mitch Cohagan (Pickerington, Ohio/North) to tie the game a second time.
With 4:19 left in the game, senior midfielder Jeff Capella (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) squeezed between three defenders to seize the lead in unassisted fashion before Derrenberger scored off of junior defensive midfielderDanny Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) with 1:06 left. The final goal would prove crucial when Adrian scored a desperation goal with 13 seconds remaining on the clock.
Following the impossible comeback and an appropriately jubilant celebration, the Tigers finished the game led by Lord, who tallied five goals and two assists in the game. Snider scored four goals and assisted once, while senior midfielder Ted Winders (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) had two scores in the contest. Capella, Cohagan and Derrenberger all finished with one goal, the latter two also picking up an assist each.
The hidden heroes of the box score worked hard in the faceoff circle and in the backfield. Sophomore defensive midfielder Elliot Avis (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) had five groundballs and went 16-of-27 in faceoffs, an area in which the Tigers have worked hard to improve. Johnson picked up six groundballs and sophomore defender Michael Cocking (St. Louis, Mo./CBC) had four. Junior defender Ryan Spain (Concord, NH/Bishop Brady) and junior defender Adam Ansel (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) each finished with three scoops.
Wittenberg takes its 5-2 overall record to Gambier, Ohio, next Saturday, April 3, to open North Coast Athletic Conference action in a 1 p.m. game.
Written by: John Strawn '07