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The Wittenberg men's soccer team put the wraps on an encouraging 2005 season with a 3-0 loss at Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Tigers played one of the most challenging schedules in all of NCAA Division III, with nine of the 10 teams ranked in the final Great Lakes Region poll appearing on it. In spite of the schedule, a spate of injuries and a youthful roster, Wittenberg posted its first winning season since 2001 while qualifying for the now six-year-old NCAC Tournament for the first time in school history.
Rounding out the campaign with a 7-6-6 overall record, including a mark of 4-2-3 in the NCAC regular season, the Tigers also made some history. The six ties equalled the NCAA Division III record for ties in a season, matching the total posted by Ithaca during the 1995 campaign. The previous school record for ties in a season is three.
Wittenberg outscored opponents by a narrow 30-27 margin, led by freshman midfielder Matt Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) with eight goals, six assists and 22 total points. Two other freshmen scored nine points apiece, forwards Shane Price (Minford, Ohio/Minford) and Mike Conley (Xenia, Ohio/Beavercreek).
None of those players earned an NCAC Player of the Week honor in 2005, however. That went to senior Levi Van Reeth (Norwich, Ohio/John Glenn), who scored a goal in a 7-1 win over Wabash on Oct. 26 and then had a game-tying score against Wooster on Oct. 29. The latter goal was the one that earned the Tigers a tie and a berth in the NCAC Tournament.
Defensively, the Tigers recorded four shutouts as junior Adam Horrocks (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) started 18 of the 19 games in goal. He finished with a sterling saves percentage of .814.