Tigers Inch Closer To Conference Title At Oberlin

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Alyssa Ashbaugh

OBERLIN, Ohio — The Wittenberg field hockey team moved closer to a regular season North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title Saturday with an 8-2 win over Oberlin, moving to 9-1 in league play and 12-3 overall.

The Tigers maintained their first-place standing with the win, while Wooster took sole possession of second place by knocking Kenyon out of a tie for the spot with a 3-1 win in Wooster, Ohio.

The Tigers have two conference games remaining, including a Noon matchup with third-place Kenyon (9-9, 7-3 NCAC) at Edwards-Maurer Field in Springfield on Saturday, Oct. 30, but they must first get past Earlham (2-13, 0-10 NCAC) at home at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 26.

After shutting out the Yeowomen 10-0 back on Saturday, Sept. 25, the Tigers again took it right at Oberlin with an opening volley of six goals in the first period. They added two in the second period, while Oberlin struck for one goal in each half.

The Tiger offense was paced by familiar faces, as the team's top three scorers all posted two goals, including senior scoring leader Boo Vernon (Lake Bluff, Ill./Cushing Academy), second-place senior Tori Casanta (Mason, Ohio/Cor Jesu Academy) and junior Elizabeth Dwyer (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue).

Sophomore Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) and freshman Nina de Roos (The Netherlands/Maartens College) each scored once to round out the 'goals' column.

Senior Meredith Price (Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Country Day) turned in a defensive save in support of a pair of Tiger goalkeepers. Junior Jenny Schaafsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) started the game and made 13 saves against one goal allowed in 57 minutes in the cage, followed by the first 13 minutes of the season for junior Alyssa Ashbaugh (Gahanna, Ohio/Columbus School For Girls), during which she allowed one goal.

John Strawn '07