SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers have roared back to life after an 0-7 start, putting together perhaps their finest all-around performance in a 3-0 victory over visiting Ohio Wesleyan.
The win was Wittenberg's fourth in a row and second by shutout in that string. The Tigers have climbed into fourth place in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings, heading into another key league showdown on Saturday, Oct. 10, against visiting DePauw.
With the win, Wittenberg has positioned itself to claim one of the four coveted NCAC Tournament spots. Ohio Wesleyan fell to 5-5 overall and 3-4 in the league.
The first half was played to a scoreless stalemate, even as Wittenberg outshot the visitors by an 11-2 count, in addition to a 7-1 advantage in penalty corners. Those margins grew over the final 35 minutes as well, settling in at 27-3 for shots and 12-3 in penalty corners.
Despite the tilted playing field, it took a penalty stroke for the Tigers to break through in the 47th minute. Senior Paige Vanerstrom (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) drove home the opportunity to stake the Tigers to their first lead of the game after a shot by sophomore Maddie Goelz (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) was blocked in the goal mouth by an Ohio Wesleyan defender.
Wittenberg pressured the Battling Bishops even more from that point, and the Tigers put the game out of reach with goals in the 64th and 67th minutes by freshman Isabella Wagner (Hilliard, Ohio/Bradley) and freshman Robin Gevers (Beilin, The Netherlands/Dr. Nassau College). Wagner picked up the assist on the goal by Gevers.
At the other end of the field, junior Sarah Brownell (Ocnomowoc, Wis./University Lake School) did the job in goal, making one save and also turning away several long hits by OWU. Her sheet was kept clean in large part thanks to the stellar work of the defensive crew, including junior Michelle Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), sophomore Zara Tickner (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), senior Andrea Mattingly (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy), sophomore Bridgid Kortyna (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), and junior Michaela Bowler (Lake Bluff, Ill./Woodlands Academy).
Written By: Ryan Maurer