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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Anyone who's watched a Wittenberg men's soccer practice in the dog days of summer can tell you that the Tigers are very well-conditioned. Saturday night that became very apparent, as hot, humid weather made the trip to Edwards-Maurer Field a big disappointment for the Big Red of Denison, as they fell 2-0 to a stamina-filled Tiger team.
For most of the first half of the night's matchup, the Tigers and the Big Red held each other at bay, spending equal amounts of time on either side of the field. Both goalies got opportunities to make big saves, saving three each in the opening period. Tiger keeper Ben McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, Ore./Cleveland) came through with a great save early in the period, stopping a well-shot Denison ball from finding net with an exhilirating dive, hands and outstretched arms deflecting the shot wide left.
But in the second period, the Tiger conditioning came through, helping propel them to two goals and putting them under a spotlight in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Moving to 3-0 in league play, the Tigers now stand atop the conference as the only team with an unblemished North Coast record.
The Tigers came out of the gate a different team in the second period, finally starting to control the ball and forcing Denison to play Wittenberg soccer. This paid off, as only seven minutes into the period Joe Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North) found the back of the net with an awe-inspiring header off a Matt Borland (Kettering, Ohio/Alter) corner kick. Following the Zeller goal, Denison lost its speed advantage to pure exhaustion in the heat and humidity, evidenced by multiple take-aways for the Tiger defense and more play near the Denison goal.
Borland wouldn't stay in the assistant's seat for long, laying out for a header of his own, Superman-style, only 10 yards in front of the goal off a superb Brian Glenn (Salem, Va./Salem) feed from left of the net.
Head Coach Steve Dawson says Borland is having one of the best season's he's seen in recent history. "What can you say about Matt?" he said. "He's just the man out there." Dawson was also pleased with the performance of McAnnis-Entenman, who made several highlight-reel saves to keep the game in Wittenberg's favor, and the defensive prowess of junior Justin Jenkins (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), the 2005 NCAC Newcomer of the Year.
The team has high hopes for the post-season in 2007, already making a great case for the NCAC playoffs and shooting ultimately for an NCAA bid. They will next take on conference opponent Kenyon on Wednesday, Oct. 10, to continue their league schedule.
Written By: John Strawn