GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tigers won their fourth straight game and eighth in their last nine games with a 12-7 victory at previously undefeated North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Denison.
The win was Wittenberg's second straight in the regular season against the Big Red, who spoiled the Tigers' bid for a spot in the 2012 NCAA Division III Tournament with an upset at Edwards-Maurer Field last year. Wittenberg is now within two wins of back-to-back undefeated NCAC regular seasons, as the Tigers improved to 10-3 overall and 6-0 in the conference, with games against Oberlin and DePauw remaining before the four-team NCAC Tournament.
Denison, which came into the game ranked No. 4 in the West Region, is now 12-1 overall and 5-1 in the NCAC, thanks in large part to a tremendous first half performance for the Tigers, who are ranked second in the region. Wittenberg jumped out to an 8-2 lead by halftime, powered by three goals from sophomore Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) and five clutch saves from senior goalkeeper Katie Bondy (Westerville, Ohio/South).
Over the final 30 minutes, Denison held a narrow 5-4 advantage. However, the Big Red could get no closer than four goals as juniors Nicolette Lyons (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH)) scored less than two minutes apart to put the game away.
Warye finished with five goals in the game, while senior Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) and junior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) added two scores apiece. Lyons, Marousek and sophomore Beth Hubbard (West Hartford, Conn./Notre Dame de Sion (Mo.)) rounded out the scoring. Morrissey dished out two assists, and Marousek and Murzynski chipped in with one helper each.
Morrissey stuffed the stats sheet with game-highs of five draw controls, four ground balls and six caused turnovers, while junior Alex Dressman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) added four caused turnovers and three ground balls and Lyons contributed three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Bondy finished with seven saves, compared to 16 for her Denison counterpart. The Tigers held a commanding 39-17 shots advantage in the game.