Brian Boutin

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers were ambushed at home, of all places, and wound up getting their 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) campaign off on the wrong foot with a 3-0 loss to Allegheny.

The Tigers fell to 4-4-1 on the season, heading into the final non-conference game of the season at Cedarville on Tuesday. Allegheny is now 7-2 overall. The match was the NCAC opener for both teams.

The game wasn't even 30 minutes old before the Tigers found themselves in a stunning 3-0 hole. Despite outshooting the visitors 9-7 and splitting nine corner kick opportunities pretty much down the middle, Wittenberg never recovered, even needing a team defensive save just to keep the margin at three goals.

Eight different Wittenberg players were credited with a shot in the game, with only sophomore Brian Boutin (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) putting more than one attempt in the direction of the Allegheny goal. Neither Wittenberg goalkeeper that appeared in the game was credited with a save as the majority of play was in the midfield and only four of Allegheny's shots were on frame. The Gators' goalkeeper was only credited with one save en route to his clean sheet.