David Rea

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Wittenberg men's soccer team ended a trip to the Rocky Mountains with a 2-1 loss to UC Santa Cruz, the sole NCAA Division III school in the University of California system, in a neutral site match as part of the 2011 Bill Boddington Memorial Tournament.

The contest was originally scheduled for Sandcreek Stadium, a part of the home complex of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies. Due to soggy conditions at the complex, the gamesite was changed to Washburn Field, the home of Colorado College's football team and a backup soccer venue.

The Banana Slugs opened the scoring in the 20th minute and added another before the Tigers could scratch the board. Facing a 2-0 deficit, Wittenberg senior Spencer Hogue (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) found freshman Joe Halula (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) to cut the lead in half in the 57th minute.

The score was the first of Halula's collegiate career, but it was also the only goal of the game for the Red & White. Both teams played scoreless through the next 43 minutes.

In the net, senior goalkeeper Michael Lambeck (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) allowed two goals against one save in 63 minutes, and senior David Rea (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) made two saves in 27 scoreless minutes.

The Tigers return to the Buckeye State for a Wednesday night matchup in Cincinnati against Mount St. Joseph, beginning at 7 p.m.

John Strawn '07