DELAWARE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers completed an unlikely rally from an 0-7 start to the 2015 season with a 4-1 road victory over Ohio Wesleyan that clinched a spot in next week's four-team North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament.
Wittenberg, which also started the NCAC schedule with three straight losses, improved to 7-10 overall and 7-6 in the league. In the last 10 games, Wittenberg's only three losses have come by one goal, including a pair in sudden-death overtime situations.
The win was Wittenberg's second of the season against the Battling Bishops, which fell to 8-10 overall and 6-7 in the league. While OWU is just one game behind Wittenberg in the standings with one game left in the season, the Tigers hold the tiebreaker between the two teams and would advance to the NCAC Tournament in the event of a tie.
Wittenberg piled up 28 shots in the game, compared to 11 for Ohio Wesleyan. Senior Paige Vanerstrom (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) and sophomore Maddie Goelz (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) combined for 18 of those shots, but neither managed to dent the scoreboard.
Scoring honors instead went to sophomore Audrey Coler (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline Academy), sophomore Riley Trexler (Louisville, Ky./Atherton), senior Emma Foster (Westbury, NY/W.T. Clarke) and freshman Robin Gevers (Beilen, The Netherlands/Wolfert van Borselen). Coler and Trexler gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead going into halftime, and Foster and Gevers added goals in the second half, sandwiched around Ohio Wesleyan's lone tally.
Wittenberg's defense was stellar, highlighted by five saves from junior goalkeeper Sarah Brownell (Ocnomowoc, Wis./University Lake School). She was bolstered as always by the work of sophomore center back Zara Tickner (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and her defensive teammates, including junior Michelle Murray (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), junior Michaela Bowler (Lake Bluff, Ill./Woodlands Academy) and freshman Alexandra Bruins Slot (Haarlem, The Netherlands/Stedelijk Gymnasium).
Written By: Ryan Maurer