Tigers Remain Unbeaten In NCAC With Big Win Over Wooster

Francine Murzynski stuffed the stats sheet, including five goals and three assists, as the Tigers topped Wooster 19-13. File Photo | Erin Pence
Francine Murzynski stuffed the stats sheet, including five goals and three assists, as the Tigers topped Wooster 19-13. File Photo | Erin Pence

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – It took twice as long as most games, but the Wittenberg women's lacrosse team remained perfect in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with a 19-13 victory over Wooster.

The game took nearly three and one-half hours to complete thanks to thunderstorms in the area that suspended play for nearly two hours. Before the lightning was sighted during halftime, Wittenberg had jumped out to a commanding 14-6 lead, and the Tigers held off Wooster in the second half to drop the Scots to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in the NCAC.

Wittenberg, which has won 10 straight NCAC regular season games over the last two seasons, improved to 7-3 overall and 4-0 in the conference, heading into a busy weekend that includes a road game at first-year program Hiram on Saturday, April 13, and Senior Recognition Day back in Springfield against Thiel, coached by former Wittenberg standout and head coach Kati Robbins.

Interestingly, Wooster held an advantage in several key team statistics, including a 31-28 edge in ground balls, a 31-29 edge in shots, six fewer turnovers and a better percentage on clear attempts.

Wittenberg won the game thanks to an efficient offense and another solid shoting from senior goalkeeper Katie Bondy (Westerville, Ohio/South). She turned away 12 shots to improve to 6-3 between the pipes during the 2013 season.

At the other end of the field, Wittenberg scored on 19 of its 22 shots on goal as Wooster goalkeeper Isabel Perman recorded three saves. Individually, sophomore Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings), junior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) and junior Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH)) turned in tremendous offensive performances to lead the way.

Warye scored six goals, tied for the third-best single-game effort in program history, and tallied eight total points, the fourth-best mark ever. The latter total was matched by Murzynski as she finished with five goals and three assists. Marousek was right behind with seven total points, including a whopping five assists, one short of the school record.

Murzynski added five ground balls and seven draw controls, while senior Katie Warner (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy) was outstanding on defense with game-highs of eight ground balls and three caused turnovers.