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HIRAM, Ohio - Teams with championship aspirations find ways to win road games against quality opponents, and for the second time in four days the Wittenberg Tigers did just that. On Saturday, the Tigers topped host Hiram, 2-1, in a key North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) game.
The win moved the 19th-ranked Tigers, who defeated previously unbeaten Indiana Wesleyan on the road on Wednesday, to 10-2-1 overall and, more importantly, 1-0-1 in the NCAC. Hiram fell to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in the NCAC.
Wittenberg outshot Hiram, 13-6, in the game and held a two-goal lead until late in the game, when Hiram became just the third team all season to score against the Tigers. For the first time in 2007, however, Wittenberg won a game in which its opponent found the back of the Tigers' net.
Wittenberg's first goal came late in the first half as junior forward Corey Shubitowski (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) scored at the 42:04 minute mark off a feed from junior midfielder Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington). In the second half, the Tigers gave themselves and important cushion with an unassisted goal by Medwid in the 51st minute.
The Tiger defense was dented for its first goal since Sept. 12 against Transylvania, but senior goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) came up with three saves and the entire unit withstood nine Hiram corner kick opportunities.