Springfield, Ohio – Junior Matthew Welch scored an unassisted goal with 4:44 left in the game to even the score up at 10-10 between Wittenberg and visiting DePauw in NCAC Men's Lacrosse Action, but the Indiana Tigers scored what ended up being the game-winning goal nearly 30 seconds later to escape Springfield with the one-goal victory over Wittenberg. The loss moves Wittenberg's overall record to 4-8 on the year and now puts them right in the middle of the NCAC standings at 3-2 in league play with three games left on the schedule.
Game Breakdown
DePauw kicked off the scoring in the contest with an unassisted goal at the 8:11 mark, but Wittenberg quickly answered with an unassisted goal of its own from sophomore Cam Kennedy. The Ohio Tigers than took a 3-2 lead on a man-up goal that saw sophomore Andrew Ellis find junior Noah Moderwell open for his 11th goal of the season. After another DPU goal tied the score at 3-3 with 1:55 left in the opening frame, freshman Cooper Harris netted yet another unassisted goal at the 1:18 mark to give Wittenberg a 4-3 lead after the first 15 minutes of action.
DePauw picked up a man-up goal to open play in the second quarter and the two squads traded off goals for the remainder of the period, culminating in a 6-6 tie at the break. Ellis found an open Moderwell once again at the 12:07 mark to make the score 5-4 in favor of Wittenberg, before scoring an unassisted goal of his own later in the period to give the Ohio Tigers their sixth goal of the match.
Wittenberg stormed out of the gates strong in the third quarter as Ellis netted his third goal of the match off an assist from senior Jerry Coyle to make the score 7-6, while Harris got in the scoring column at the 12:00 minute mark on a man-up opportunity, with the assist being credited to Moderwell. With the score sitting at 8-7 in favor of Wittenberg, sophomore Grant Snodgrass won the faceoff, raised past the DPU defenders and fired a shot in for his first goal of the 2019 campaign. However, DePauw scored the final three goals of the third quarter to take a 10-9 lead into the final period where they would eventually come away with the one-goal victory over Wittenberg.
Ellis paced the Tigers' offensive unit on the day with the three goals and two assists, while Harris and Moderwell each finished the game with two goals apiece. A pair of Tigers finished the match with five groundballs each, including junior Tony LeBarge and sophomore Max Cavellier. In addition, Cavellier made 10 saves in the Wittenberg goal throughout the match.
Wittenberg did win the battle at the faceoff-x on the afternoon by winning 15-of-25 attempts, highlighted by Snodgrass finishing the game by winning 8-of-12 attempts. Junior Quinn McConkey also closed out the game by going 7-for-12 at the x.
Up Next
The Tigers will now hit the road this Saturday (4/20) for a 1:00 p.m. contest at No. 13 Denison, before returning back to Springfield the following Tuesday (4/23) for the final home game of the year, a 7:00 p.m. bout against NCAC foe Ohio Wesleyan.