Brian Glenn '10

Springfield, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men's soccer team hopes to turn its 2009 season around as Head Coach Steve Dawson welcomes three outstanding teams to Edwards-Maurer Field for the annual Wittenberg Invitational Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18 and 19.

Albion College, Calvin College and Otterbein College will join the host Tigers in this year's Wittenberg Invitational. Two games will be played on both days, starting with a contest between Otterbein and Calvin at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18. Wittenberg and Albion will square off at 7:30 p.m. that day. On Saturday, Sept. 19, Otterbein and Albion will play at 2 p.m., followed by Wittenberg and Calvin at 4:30 p.m.

Coming off the best season in school history, in which the Tigers posted records of 16-4-1 overall and 6-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), Wittenberg was picked to finish sixth in the league this year. After losing perhaps the finest senior class in program history, however, Wittenberg is off to a 0-4-1 start in 2009.

The three teams joining the Tigers in the 2008 Wittenberg Invitational will provide outstanding competition. Albion is off to a 1-3 start to the 2009 season, while Calvin, annually one of the top teams in the Great Lakes Region, is 3-1 and ranked No. 25 in the first-ever d3soccer.com poll. Albion tied for third in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) a year ago and finished 9-9-1 overall, while Calvin won its second straight conference title.

Otterbein is 1-1-2 in the early going of the 2009 season, including a 2-2 tie at Wittenberg on Saturday, Sept. 12. The Cardinals, the 2002 national runner-up, finished 7-7-3 overall a year ago.

Steve Dawson is in his 27th season as the university's men's soccer head coach with a career record of 265-187-30. He ranks among the top 40 in NCAA Division III all-time coaching victories.

Written by: Ryan Maurer
Photo by: Brad Tucker

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