|
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — In the first-ever North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) match-up between longtime rivals DePauw and Wittenberg, the visiting DePauw Tigers picked up a dramatic 2-1 overtime victory.
Wittenberg held a 1-0 lead through the final seconds of the game, only to be stunned with a mere 1.6 seconds left on the clock. DePauw took a corner kick with about 30 seconds left, and Wittenberg tried multiple times without success to clear the ball to the other end of the field. DePauw's Tony Halterman found some space near the top of the 18, but his shot with eight seconds left hit the crossbar. It bounced out to Dean Weaver, who volleyed home a shot from an improbable angle.
Weaver's shot from 30 yards out beat Wittenberg senior goalkeeper Michael Lambeck (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) to the top left corner of the net. It spoiled a sterling performance from Lambeck, who recorded nine saves, including a diving deflection of a point-blank attempt at the 72:59 mark.
Deflated, the homestanding Tigers then gave up the game-winning goal in just 1:32 of overtime action. The loss dropped Wittenberg to 5-7-1 overall and 1-3-0 in the NCAC, while DePauw, ranked No. 25 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and No. 17 by d3soccer.com, improved to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
The game was eerily similar to the last meeting between the two teams, a 2007 classic on the same Edwards-Maurer Field turf. In that game, DePauw led 1-0 into the closing seconds when Wittenberg pushed everyone into the attacking third on a free kick opportunity. Goalkeeper Ben McAnnis-Entenman came up with the big blow in that instance, scoring the equalizer on a header. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after lightning was spotted just two minutes into the overtime period.
The visiting Tigers outshot the host Tigers by a 19-11 margin in the game, in addition to earning nine corner kicks to two for Wittenberg.
Individually, freshman Joe Halula (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) led with four shots, three of which were directed on goal. It was his first half goal that gave the host Tigers the lead.