Bexley, Ohio – Despite outscoring Capital by a 7-6 margin in the second half, the Wittenberg University Women's Lacrosse team dropped a narrow 13-11 decision against the Crusaders on Wednesday night in Bernlohr Stadium in central Ohio. The loss snapped the Tigers' two-game winning streak and drops their overall record on the year to 3-4 against non-conference opponents.
Game Breakdown
Capital struck first early in the contest, but the Tigers quickly went ahead 2-1 with back-to-back goals just minutes later. Senior Emily Wadds found an open Josee Clayton for the Tigers first goal at the 25:48 mark, before adding an unassisted goal of her own nearly a minute later with 24:37 showing on the clock. The two squads than traded goals back-and-fourth over the next three-plus minutes of game action, culminating in a 4-3 lead for Wittenberg with 21:33 left in the half on an unassisted goal from senior Madeline Stock. However, Capital closed out the half on a 4-0 run to give the Crusaders a 7-4 lead at the break.
After Capital scored the opening goal of the second half, the Tigers kept pace with the Crusaders with a pair of unassisted goals from Clayton and junior Rachel Bernard to make the score 9-6 in favor of Capital with 17:08 left in the game. After Capital went back up 10-6 just seconds later, Wittenberg scored four of the game's next five goals to pull within one, 11-10, with 7:54 left in the game. Clayton scored two of the four goals for the Tigers in that nine-minute stretch. The two squads once again traded goals, with Wadds finding Clayton for another goal with 7:11 left in the game to make the score 12-11, but Capital ultimately scored the final goal of the game at the 4:03 mark to close out the two-goal victory over the Tigers.
Clayton led all scorers in the game with five goals on nine total shots, while Stock and Wadds both finished the contest with two goals each. Wadds also added two assists and led the Tigers with 13 draw control wins on the night, while Bernard paced the Tigers on the defensive side of the ball with a team-leading seven ground balls. Finally, freshman netminder Joanna Stecz finished the game with a season-high 14 saves in the Wittenberg goal.
Up Next
After opening the season with seven non-conference games, the Tigers will open North Coast play this Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. home game against Oberlin.