Tigers Capture First Win Of 2016 With 14-10 Decision At Albion

The Tigers worked hard for their first win of the 2016 season, a 14-10 road decision over Albion. Photo by Lowell McGinnis
The Tigers worked hard for their first win of the 2016 season, a 14-10 road decision over Albion. Photo by Lowell McGinnis

ALBION, Mich. - The Wittenberg Tigers raced out to a 5-1 lead by the end of the first quarter and a 9-4 advantage at halftime en route to a four-goal road win over Albion.

The win was Wittenberg's first of the 2016 season, coming a week after a 13-12 home defeat against Otterbein. The game opened a busy Spring Break week for the Tigers, who next head to the Rocky Mountains for a pair of games at Colorado College.

After building a commanding five-goal advantage by halftime, the Tigers continued their stellar work in the third period and led by seven heading into the fourth. The Britons staged a late rally with four unanswered goals over the final nine minutes, but it wasn't enough to overcome the visitors.

Wittenberg outshot Albion by a 49-38 margin, forcing both goalkeepers into 14 saves. The win was the first in junior Nick Gregory's (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak) career as a collegiate starter.

While Gregory was doing fine work backstopping the Tiger defense, senior Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) led the scoring output with four goals and one assist. Other contributors at the offensive end were junior Austin Brady (Pickerington, Ohio/North) with three goals and one assist, senior TJ Smith (Atlanta, Ga./The Marist School) with three goals, senior Thomas Fuss (Gahanna, Ohio/New Albany) with one goal and one assist, senior Sean Kelleher (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) with two goals and an assist, and junior Joseph Crawford (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) with one tally.

Senior Will Stocker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) poured in seven ground balls to lead the Tigers in that category. Juniors Brent Whitehead (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and Alex Dankowski (Pickerington, Ohio/North) added four ground balls each, and Dankowski rounded out the scoring with an assist.

Written By: Ryan Maurer