HIRAM, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers pounced on Hiram in the 2015 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opener for both teams, outscoring the host Terriers by a whopping 23-1 score.

The win was Wittenberg's first of the 2015 season after three straight narrow losses to open the campaign. Hiram dropped to 1-3 overall.

The Terriers actually opened the scoring with a goal at the 12:28 mark of the first quarter. From that point, however, it was all Wittenberg, as the Tigers scored seven goals in an 11-minute span of the first quarter and followed that with six more goals in the second quarter. Substituting liberally over the final 30 minutes, Wittenberg continued to pour it on with three goals in the third quarter and seven more in the fourth.

Wittenberg attempted 55 shots in the game, compared to 11 for Hiram, and the Tigers were credited with 47 ground balls to 16 for the Terriers. In goal, sophomore Nick Gregory (Mukiteo, Wash./Kamiak) made his first start and recorded two saves before senior Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) and sophomore Aaron Blossey (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) split the second half and were forced to come up with just one save between them.

Freshman Brendan Rigney (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) picked up six ground balls to lead Wittenberg in that category, followed closely by senior Ryan Spitzer (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson) with five. Spitzer also led the Tigers with three goals in the game.

He was one of 14 Tigers to score a goal in the game, and he was one of eight Wittenberg players to find the back of the net more than one time. The seven Tigers to score twice in the game were junior Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln), sophomore Austin Brady (Pickerington, Ohio/North), senior Matt Hugdahl (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie), junior Thomas Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln), senior Sean Kelleher (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and sophomore Zach Shy (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington).

Written By: Ryan Maurer