Michael Lambeck

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg men's soccer team pushed the fourth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops to the brink Wednesday night, coming within 2:13 of forcing the national heavyweight into a scoreless tie. The Bishops scored late in the second overtime and handed the Tigers a 1-0 loss.

The Tigers fall to 5-8-3 overall and 2-3-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with the loss.

The two teams battled through almost 108 scoreless minutes, a statistic which stands in credit to junior Tiger goalkeeper Michael Lambeck (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman), who made 15 saves among a flurry of 34 shots from the Battling Bishops.

The high-powered Ohio Wesleyan offense averaged 2.23 goals on 21.3 shots per game coming into the contest. While the Bishops topped their shot average, they were held well below their goal average by both Lambeck and a tireless Wittenberg defense.

Of the Bishops' 34 total shots, most were blocked or forced wide by defensive pressure. The game-deciding shot came from Tyler Wall, who threaded the defense to the top of the penalty box, letting off a shot that beat Lambeck to the far post.

The Tigers were led in shots by two each from freshman set-piece specialist and defender Kevin Bond (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley), junior Marshall Rowland (Pewee Valley, Ky./South Oldham) and freshman Brian Boutin (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon). Senior Nate Ayres (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) and sophomore Gus Domenick (Wheat Ridge, Colo./Lakewood) each shot once.

Ayres, Bond and Rowland each put one shot on goal.

The Tigers hit the road for their next match, a 5 p.m. contest at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 23.

John Strawn '07