BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Wittenberg Tigers have all the pieces in place for an outstanding 2005 season. On Friday, the Tigers took the first step toward making the championship dream a reality by defeating Illinois Wesleyan on its home turf by a 2-1 count.

Wittenberg, coming off an 11-4-5 overall record in 2004, opened the scoring with a goal by senior Lindsey Zigler in the 41st minute. The goal was unassisted and the halftime score was 1-0 in favor of the Tigers.

In the 63rd minute, Illinois Wesleyan tied it on a counterattack breakaway goal. After dominating much of the first 20 minutes of the game, Illinois Wesleyan had finally evened the count.

Wittenberg's broke the tie in the 85th minute on a goal by sophomore Lisa Rusch, the Tigers' leading scorer a year ago. Her first tally of the new season was set up by a pass from her twin sister Lindsey.

The Tigers won last year with defense and strong goaltending, and Friday's season opener was no different. Sophomore Meghan O'Rourke turned away seven IWU shots in the game and turned in an outstanding performance.

Wittenberg's long trip to Illinois concludes tomorrow with a game against Aurora in the finale of Illinois Wesleyan's kick-off tournament. Game time is set for 5 p.m. (CST).