SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg women's lacrosse team kicked off a promising 2013 season in style, reeling off the last seven goals of the game in a 12-4 victory over visiting Centre.
Coming off one of the finest seasons in program history, which concluded with records of 12-5 overall and 6-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season, the Tigers picked up right where they left off in 2012. Wittenberg jumped out to a commanding 5-0 lead before allowing a goal with just 17 seconds left before halftime.
The Colonels, who posted an impressive 13-5 overall record a year ago, built on that momentum with three goals to open the second half to close to within 5-4 with 18:28 remaining in the game. But from that point, the Tiger defense stiffened while the offense got back on track, scoring the last seven goals of the game.
The Tigers outshot Centre by a narrow 23-21 margin and held a 34-27 advantage in ground balls, led by senior Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) and junior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) with six apiece. Most importantly, senior goalkeeper Katie Bondy (Westerville, Ohio/South) was stellar between the pipes, turning away 12 Centre shots, compared to seven for her Colonels' counterpart.
The offense was paced by sophomore Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), who poured in four goals on six shots, including three in the decisive 7-0 game-ending run. Morrissey, senior Erin Guiliano (Loveland, Ohio/Kings) and junior Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH)) each scored two goals.
Murzynski led the Tigers with three draw controls, and she shared game honors with Morrissey with three caused turnovers.