Wittenberg Tigers - 2006 NCAC Women's Soccer Champions

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers have developed a formula for women's soccer success in recent years. After following it to a tee in their first North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship match, the Tigers have their first trophy for the university's case after a 1-0 home win over Denison.

The win earned the Tigers their first berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament ever. Wittenberg carries a 14-3-3 overall record into the national tourney after finishing second in the NCAC regular season title chase and then defeating visiting Wooster, 2-0, in the NCAC Tournament semifinals on Wednesday. The tournament selection committee will announce the bracket late Sunday night.

Denison, which beat Wittenberg 2-0 in the regular season before slipping to fourth place in the final NCAC standings, now has a 14-4-1 overall record. The Big Red are a good bet to earn one of 19 at-large berths into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

This night was all about the Tigers, however, as the defense shut out a 12th opponent of the 2006 season. Junior goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) had another fine performance, turning away six Denison shots, including a pair from close range in the second half. She broke the school record for career shutouts as she posted No. 31 of her career, topping the total of 30.5 that Sarah Newlin, the 1995 National Player of the Year, achieved in the Red & White.

Denison actually outshot Wittenberg 11-10 for the game, but the Tigers' recipe for success is to play stingy defense, control the midfield as much as possible and then finish the sometimes rare quality offensive opportunity. They did just that, allowing the Big Red just a handful of scoring chances and then striking for a goal with just 7:54 left on the second-half clock. Junior Amy Meige (Westerville, Ohio/Columbus DeSales) had the game-winner as she banged home a shot from the middle of the penalty box. After a long shot, Meige attacked a rebound off the Denison goalkeeper's initial save.