Clearwater, FL- Wittenberg headed to Clearwater, Florida for warmth and competition against two non-conference opponents. While in the sunshine state the men will compete against Misericordia and Otterbein. The Cougars of Misericordia started their season off 2-0 and the Tigers looked to end that streak under the lights. In their first ever match-up of program history Wittenberg had 12 goals between six players and a fourth quarter shutout but were unable to defeat the Cougars, falling 16-12.
The Cougars were able to get on the board first in the first quarter with four back-to-back goals before the Tigers could answer. Ending the streak for Misericordia was Julio Novarini from Travis Demsher on a man-up opportunity. Doing the exact same thing in the final minute of the first quarter was Holton Boehmer from Mitchell Steinker on another man-up to make the score 4-2 with Misericordia leading. Wittenberg was able to start the second quarter with two back-to-back goals to tie the game 4-4. Scoring were Ben Holland and Kody Gould with assists from Noah Mackin and Zach Busby. Both teams went back-and-forth for another two minutes before the Cougars went unanswered. Scoring the Red & White's third goal of the quarter was Holton Boehmer with his second of the game from Ben Holland. The Tigers were able to get one more goal on the board in the second quarter from Ben Holland capitalizing on a man-up opportunity with an assist from Gould. The Tigers headed into the third quarter down with a score of 12-6. The Red & White got on the board twice in the third quarter with one from Max Schillig and Kody Gould with his second goal of the game, both unassisted. Heading into the fourth quarter the Tigers were behind 16-8. Wittenberg was able to shutdown Cougar offense in the final quarter of play, leaving them scoreless while putting up four of their own. Scoring in the fourth quarter were Julio Novarini with his second of the game, Gould with his hat trick, and Noah Mackin with two goals of his own with one being man-down. Both of Mackin's goals were assisted by Ben Holland to give Holland five points on the game. The Tigers ultimately fell 16-12 in their first match-up of spring break.
Wittenberg Leaders- The Tigers had six different individuals score, being led by Kody Gould with three goals, while Mario Lorelli led in caused turnovers with five followed by Max Benincasa with four. Benincasa lead in ground balls, picking up seven on the day. Leading in goal for Wittenberg was Brandon Shevins with nine saves after facing 25 shots on goal.
Up Next- Wittenberg will return to action down in Clearwater, FL for match-ups against Otterbein on the 11th.