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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Rounding out a superb Saturday for the Wittenberg fall sports teams, the Tiger women's soccer team wrapped up another stellar season by capturing the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament title with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the NCAC's surprise challenger, the Earlham Quakers. The Tigers improved to 11-4-5 overall in earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Wittenberg advanced to their fifth straight NCAC Tournament championship game thanks to a 1-0 win earlier in the week on Wednesday over Allegheny, while Earlham upset top-seeded Denison by the same margin to earn their first-ever and, ironically, last-ever appearance in the title match. The Quakers will exit the NCAC for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference following the conclusion of the 2009-10 academic year. The Tigers have won the NCAC Tournament each of the last four years.
Earlham continued the surprises by scoring first in the game, overcoming one of the nation's best defenses to put the Tigers down in the 30th minute of the game off the foot of Faye Rowell. Tiger freshman goalkeeper Melissa Gartner (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula), her view blocked by a near defender, saw the ball too late to stop it from rolling past her into the goal. Gartner would go onto to make three saves, including an acrobatic, lead-saving jumper later in the game.
The Quakers held the Tigers off for the remainder of the first half to go to the break defending a 1-0 lead. But just 10 minutes into the second period, the Quakers gave up their own ground with a foul inside the penalty box. Junior midfielder/forward Maureen Buckley (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) converted the penalty shot to knot the score at 1-1.
Just over 10 minutes later, the Tigers muscled the ball back within striking distance on the left beside the penalty box. Sophomore forward Sheryl Cham bers (Victorville, Calif./St. Joan of Arc) launched a shot that elevated just over the goalie but found the crossbar. The ball rebounded directly to senior forward Emily Murray (Petoskey, Mich./Petoskey), who sent a header into the right corner of the net to give the Red & White their final 2-1 advantage.
Chambers led the team with five shots while Murray was close behind with four. In total, the Tigers let 15 shots loose on Earlham, nine on goal, while the Quakers managed just nine shots total and four on goal.
Written by: John Strawn '07