|
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - On a cold senior night, on which the Wittenberg Tigers' lone senior Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) was recognized before the game, the Tigers knew they had a tough challenge ahead of them against perennial powerhouse Ohio Wesleyan. In the 21-year history of Wittenberg women's soccer, the Tigers had beaten OWU just once - in addition to two ties.
This night proved different as the Tigers were victorious, 3-1, to improve their record to 12-3-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The win moved Wittenberg into a first-place tie with Wooster, heading into Saturday's season finale at Allegheny. The Bishops fell to 8-5-4 overall and 4-3-0 in the NCAC and out of a three-way tie for third place with Denison and Kenyon.
The Tigers came out with a purpose, scoring two goals in the opening minutes to set the tone. Just four minutes into the game sophomore midfielder Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) hit a beautiful shot in the upper 90 off a ricochet from a Wittenberg player to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Less than three minutes later junior forward Stephanie Sharp (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) scored off a corner kick from Medwid. The Tiger defense made that 2-0 lead stand up heading into halftime.
As expected, Ohio Wesleyan did not go quietly. In the 51st minute Bishop forward Meg Smith's sailing shot hit underneath the crossbar, then off Wittenberg goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke's (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) head and into the net. The Bishops had regained some of their lost momentum.
That would not carry them for long as the Tigers took over the rest of the game. In the 88th minute junior midfielder Amanda Farrell (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) scored an unassisted goal by stealing the ball from an OWU defender and placing it in the lower left corner of the net.
The second all-time win for Wittenberg over Ohio Wesleyan was also a first for Head Coach Norm Riker, and the victory clinched a birth in next week's four-team NCAC tournament. The top two teams host semifinal games on Wednesday, Nov. 1, and the winners advance to the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 4. The highest remaining seed earns the opportunity to host the championship game.