Matthew Berry

Stefan Christman

The disappointing start to the 2002 season continued for the men's soccer team last week with a pair of road defeats. The Tigers have now matched their loss totals for each of the last two seasons.

The Tigers started out with a 2-1 loss at Wilmington on Wednesday in a final non-conference tune-up. Despite taking an early lead on a goal by freshman Matthew Berry (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) off an assist by Stefan Christman (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), the Tigers couldn't hold on and went down to another one-goal loss, their fifth of the season. The game-winning goal came with just 15 minutes left to play in the second half, perhaps a less cruel fate than the four overtime losses the Tigers have already absorbed this season.

On Saturday, the Tigers lost another tight match, falling at Allegheny 2-0 in Wittenberg's NCAC opener. Senior goalkeeper/defensive back Josh Curtis (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) played well in net but surrendered two second-half tallies to account for the Tigers' defeat.

If Wittenberg is to get things turned around, they must take things one game at a time, beginning with a winnable opponent today in Earlham. A huge test comes Saturday as perennial conference power Denison comes calling on Parents Weekend in Springfield.