Georgetown, TX- The Tigers headed down to Texas for spring break to take on St. Mary's out of Indiana for their first game of the week. After gaining on the Belles early, the Tigers couldn't keep the momentum and fell with a 14-11 score.
Game Breakdown: Rachel Bernard was able to put the first point on the board off of an assist from Libby Wadds under the first minute of the game before the Belles were able to tie it up 1-1. Freshman Cecilia Critchfield snatched her first career goal at 22:16 off of a free position and she didn't stop until she picked up her first career hat-trick later in the game. Bernard picked up her second goal of the game unassisted to edge out St. Mary's with a 3-2 score. Critchfield followed with her second goal of the game unassisted to extend the lead by two. Wittenberg wasn't able to hang onto their lead and went into the half down 9-4.
With the Belles gaining an 11-4 lead early in the second half, Wittenberg refused to give up and put four points up unanswered from Faith Meads (assist Gabby Zysik), Zysik with two goals and Bernard off of free positions. Zysik was the second Tiger to pick up a hat-trick with a free position shot at 11:07. Zysik was able to put one more in the back of the net to lessen the score to 13-10 before Critchfield picked up her third goal of the game to end the Tigers scoring with an assist from Joanna Stecz. Wittenberg fell with a 14-11 score to make their over-all record 1-5.
Key Players: Wittenberg was led on offense by three Tigers; Zysik with four goals and Bernard and Critchfield each with hat-tricks. On top of scoring, Bernard won the ground ball battle for Wittenberg with nine.
Up Next: Wittenberg will continue their spring break on Wednesday, March, 11th against Southwestern. The Tigers will compete at 8 PM EST.