GRANVILLE, Ohio – The hard-luck Wittenberg Tigers were at it again Tuesday night, dropping a 3-2 decision at Denison.

The loss, Wittenberg's fourth this season by one goal, pushed the Tigers to 5-9-2 overall and 0-5-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Wittenberg has three games remaining in the 2012 season, starting with a road trip to Wooster on Saturday, Oct. 20, and ending with home dates opposite Wabash on Oct. 24 and Kenyon on Oct. 27.

Denison remained in the hunt for one of the four precious spots in the NCAC Tournament. The Big Red improved to 8-5-2 overall and 4-2-1 in the conference.

The teams traded goals in the early going, with Denison opening the scoring in the ninth minute and Wittenberg answering on a tally by senior Alejandro Garcia (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis) in the 17^th minute. A little more than four minutes later, however, the Big Red took the lead – for good, as it turned out – on an own goal by Wittenberg. In the 28^th minute, Denison struck again to make the score 3-1 at halftime.

After Wittenberg was outshot 17-5 in the first half, the Tigers played the Big Red even over the final 45 minutes, finishing with a shots deficit of 9-7. Denison's advantage in corner kick opportunities decreased exponentially as well, going from 8-2 in the first half to 3-1 in the second half. The lone goal of the final frame came in the 73^rd minute as Garcia finished an opportunity set up by senior Brock Hicks (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany).

That's where the rally ended for the Tigers, however. Sophomore Jeff Mengerink (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) was credited with eight saves, in addition to a team save that was given to the visiting Tigers.