First Half Goals Push Tigers Past Ohio Wesleyan

Julia Smith (9) dished out one of the assists for the Tigers in their 2-0 win at OWU. File Photo | Nick Falzerano
Julia Smith (9) dished out one of the assists for the Tigers in their 2-0 win at OWU. File Photo | Nick Falzerano

DELAWARE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers got a pair of goals in the first half and the defense did the rest, recording the third shutout of the 2015 season with a 2-0 whitewashing of host Ohio Wesleyan.

The win moved Wittenberg to 6-4-2 overall and 1-1-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), heading into another week between games. Next up for the Tigers is a home game against Oberlin at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.

Wittenberg jumped on top against the Battling Bishops early as freshman Megan Davis (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Pickerington Central) knocked home a header off a corner kick by sophomore Julia Smith (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) in the ninth minute. At the 33:44 mark, freshman Taylor Vaughn (Fort Thomas, Ky./Highlands) made it 2-0 with a goal off an assist from sophomore Nicole Karavakis (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Pickerington Central).

Wittenberg collected 20 shots in the game, compared to 11 for the Battling Bishops, and the Tigers were awarded five corner kicks to three for OWU. The shutout was recorded by senior goalkeeper Maggie Grieser (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), who was credited with five saves, who was protected well by a host of Tiger defenders, including the starting unit of junior Michelle Brunswick (Middletown, Ohio/Madison), senior Mackenzie Bolon (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley), senior Zoe Curry (Milford, Ohio/Ursuline) and Karavakis.

Karavakis led Wittenberg with four shots, including three on goal, while Vaughn and freshman Emma Box (Springfield, Ohio/Graham) added three shots apiece in the game.

Written By: Ryan Maurer