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YORK, Pa. - A heartbreaking game leads to the exit of the Wittenberg Tigers from the NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament. A first half penalty shot goal from Ithaca came back to haunt the stunned Tigers when the second half clock ran out of time before they could even the score.
Despite the season ending on a loss, head coach Norm Riker knows that making it this far into the postseason is a solid accomplishment.
"If you're going to have the end the season, this is where you want to do it," he said. "We have an outstanding group of young women and they should be proud of what they've done this season."
With 15 minutes to go in the first half, Wittenberg committed a foul inside the 18-yard box, giving Ithaca a penalty shot against outstanding senior goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne). The shot was well placed and found a way into the right corner of the net, giving Ithaca the 1-0 advantage. Wittenberg battled valiantly the rest of the game but could not find the back of the goal, repeatedly getting close but not close enough.
Spreading around some solid opportunities, forward Emily Murray (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey) came off the bench and worked hard, putting Wittenberg in striking distance in a number of instances. But together the crew could not move the ball much closer to the goal, putting up 12 shots but just four of them on goal.
Despite the disappointing loss to end the season, the women's soccer team must be congratulated for the excellent season they put together. They will enter the record books with the best finish for a Tiger women's soccer team in history, and the deepest NCAA playoff run in the same category. O'Rourke entered the record book herself when she posted a school and conference all-time best 13 shutouts, and though not a record setting statistic, her 0.23 goals-against-average is as incredible as it sounds.
The team awaits an 8-hour trip back to Springfield from York, Pa. tomorrow morning.
Written by: John Strawn