SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers sent out another outstanding senior class in the best way possible, celebrating Senior Recognition Day at Edwards-Maurer Field with a dominating 4-1 win over Hiram.
The win pushed the Tigers back above .500 overall at 6-5-1 and, more importantly, it evened Wittenberg's North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) record at 2-2-0 with four games to play. The Tigers have home games remaining against Kenyon and DePauw and road tests left on the schedule at Wooster and Allegheny.
Hiram fell to 5-9-1 overall and 0-4-1 in the NCAC.
The Tigers jumped on top with a pair of first-half goals, starting with a strike from senior Erika Rich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) in the 22nd minute off a feed from senior Chelsey Marcum (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville). It was Rich's fourth goal in the last five games.
That goal was followed a little less than 10 minutes later by a tally off the foot of junior Kate Burns (Granger, Ind./Penn). Burns added an insurance goal 8:46 into the second half before Hiram countered with a goal in the 62nd minute. Rich scored her second goal of the game to restore Wittenberg's three-goal cushion at the 74:05 mark.
Wittenberg outshot Hiram by a 26-14 margin in the game, and the Tigers had nine corner kick opportunities, compared to four for the Terriers. Senior Tobie Weston (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington Christian) and Burns led with five shots each, while Marcum and freshman Lauren Hofer (Avon, Ind./Cardinal Ritter) added three attempts apiece.
In goal, freshman Alexa Murrietta (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge) was credited with eight saves.
Written By: Ryan Maurer