SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Back home in the friendly confines of Edwards-Maurer Field, the Wittenberg women's soccer team got back into its offensive groove with a 3-1 win over Earlham.
In two home games so far in 2012, the Tigers have amassed nine goals in wins over Mount St. Joseph and Earlham. Sandwiched in between have been four games away from Springfield, with the Tigers managing just one goal while going 0-2-2.
After a scoreless first half, the Tigers broke out with three goals in less than 16 minutes. Senior Kailey Striebel (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) opened the scoring with a blast from the middle of the penalty area in the 50th minute. That was followed by a pair of goals from freshman Kate Burns (Granger, Ind./Penn) in the 55th minute and at the 65-minute mark. The latter came off a feed from sophomore Tobie Weston (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington Christian).
Wittenberg outshot Earlham, which scored on a breakaway in the 86th minute, by a 20-16 margin. The Tigers also had a 9-5 edge in corner kick opportunities, with 10 of Wittenberg's shot attempts directed on frame, compared to 13 by Earlham. Senior goalkeeper Melissa Gartner (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) was consistently up to the task for the Tigers, however, registering 12 saves in the game.
The Tigers, who evened their record at 2-2-2, next head into North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action at Allegheny on Saturday, Sept. 22.