SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – A Wooster goal 3:29 into the second overtime sent the Scots into the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament championship game with a 14-13 victory over the host Wittenberg Tigers.
The loss ended a tremendous run for the top-seeded Tigers, who had won six straight games and have not lost an NCAC regular season game since the end of the 2011 season. Wittenberg, ranked second in the West Region with a 12-4 overall record, now must wait for word from the NCAA Division III Tournament selection committee to determine if its season will be extended for the first time since 1989.
Wooster, seeded fourth after posting a 5-3 NCAC regular season record, will take a 13-4 overall record into Saturday's title match-up at second-seeded Kenyon.
The game started well enough for the Tigers as they pounded home three goals in the opening minute, and Wittenberg led by the same margin after junior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) found the back of the net with 37 seconds left in the first half. However, Wooster came up with a key tally with just four seconds left to set the stage for a second-half comeback.
The lead changed hands twice during the final 17 minutes, including three ties. The last deadlock was forged when Wooster's Ellie Hudson-Heck scored with a mere two seconds left on the clock.
In the first overtime session, Wittenberg held a 5-2 advantage in shots, but it was Hudson-Heck who scored first with 1:55 remaining. It was Wittenberg sophomore Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) who forged the tie this time, scoring an unassisted goal with 28 seconds left.
The second overtime is sudden-victory, by rule, and the Scots made good on the only shot of the period for either team as Hudson-Heck scored on a free position opportunity.
For the game, Wittenberg held a 33-30 advantage in shots and a 16-14 edge in draw controls. The Scots led in ground balls 39-32.
Warye finished with a career-best seven goals in the game, tying the second-highest total in program history, and she tallied eight total points for the fourth-best mark in team annals. She now has 57 goals on the season, tying the mark established by Jo-El Miller in 1996, and 72 points, tying Miller for third on the list.
Murzynski added two goals, two assists and four ground balls, while senior Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) chipped in with one goal, a team-high seven ground balls and three draw controls, and junior Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH)) contributed one goal, one assist, four ground balls and game-high eight draw controls. Also of note was the play of senior Katie Warner (Delaware, Ohio/Olentangy), who scooped up five ground balls to spark the Tigers' defense, while senior Katie Bondy (Westerville, Ohio/South) made eight saves in goal.