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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg men's soccer team welcomed neighbor Cedarville to Edwards-Maurer Field Tuesday night and fell 2-0 to the NAIA Yellow Jackets, falling to 4-5-2 overall in the process, but it was a night to remember for at least one Tiger.
After patiently waiting and working hard as a reserve player for three of the last four years, senior midfielder/forward Tim Sparks (Cincinnati, Ohio/William Mason) heard his number called late in the game and took the field in his first varsity match as a Tiger.
Sparks' debut in the Red & White coincided with the season debut of several other players, including sophomore midfielder/forward Gus Domenick (Wheat Ridge, Colo./Lakewood), and sophomore defender Chad Downing (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Wapakoneta), who finished the game with one shot.
Cedarville scored the first goal of the game early on a short range opportunity, sneaking the shot past junior goalkeeper Michael Lambeck (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) who made two saves with two goals allowed in 45 first period minutes. Junior David Rea (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) took over for the closing period and stopped two shots with no goals allowed.
Senior midfielder/forward Nate Ayres (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) paced the offense with two shots, both on goal, along with senior forward Robbie Farquhar (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) who put one on goal. Five other players shot once to bring the total to nine shots in the match.
The starting backfield of sophomore Alejandro Garcia (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis), freshman Kevin Bond (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley) and freshman Tim Weissman (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) worked hard to suppress a fast Cedarville attack, joined by substitutes Spencer Hogue (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome), Daniel Broidy (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) and Brock Hicks (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany). The unit limited the Yellow Jackets to just six shots on goal out of 17 total.
The Tigers return to North Coast Athletic Conference action with a trip to Wooster, Ohio, to take on the College of Wooster Fighting Scots at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2.