SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers knew that preseason North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) favorite Ohio Wesleyan would provide a stern test, even after the best start in school history. The Battling Bishops, an NCAA Division III Tournament semifinalist a year ago, indeed proved too tough as the Tigers, ranked No. 5 in the nation and No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region coming into the game, dropped a hard-fought 2-0 decision.
In the second half, the Tigers came out a different team. They worked harder, went into tackles harder and played with more heart and desire. But after several quality scoring chances went for naught, including a header by senior forward Shane Price (Minford, Ohio/Minford) that was cleared away by an Ohio Wesleyan defender near his own goal line, the Tigers' hopes were dashed as a goal off a deflected ball gave the Battling Bishops an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
Even with the game out of reach, the Tigers put up a good fight until the final seconds before accepting just their second loss of the season. Wittenberg, which was outshot 12-4 overall but did pick up six saves from freshman goalkeeperMichael Lambeck (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), was shut out for the first time in the 2008 season. Even so, the coaching staff took note of the play of freshman midfielder Andy Sharek (Sewickley, Pa./Sewickley Academy) and senior midfielder Jimmy Thinnes (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle), who turned in fine defensive efforts.
Wittenberg heads into its regular season finale against Hiram at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, with records of 15-2-0 overall and 6-2-0 in the NCAC.
Written By: Brenton Dawson