Wittenberg Rally Falls Short Against Denison
The Wittenberg Tigers took on one of the North Coast Athletic Conference's best teams Wednesday night and offered a stern challenge after a rough start, falling by a 7-5 count.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers took on one of the North Coast Athletic Conference's best teams Wednesday night and offered a stern challenge after a rough start, falling by a 7-5 count.
Denison jumped on Wittenberg for four goals in the first quarter, including three on their first three shots in the game's opening four minutes. By halftime, the Tigers had recovered a bit but hadn't made up any ground, trailing 6-2.
In the second half, the Tigers were the aggressors and they made things interesting. Down 7-3, junior Travis Moore scored a goal inside the final minute of the third quarter and then Moore assisted on a goal early in the fourth quarter by sophomore Jon Van Vranken. However, the Tigers were unable to convert on several Denison turnovers in the waning moments of the game as the closed up the shooting and passing lanes on defense.
Senior Cory Windle, junior Brandon Schwind, freshman James Hunter, Van Vranken and Moore scored the Wittenberg goals, while Windle and Moore were credited with assists. In goal, sophomore Andy Shively shook off the tough start to register 11 saves, while Schwind had another fine game with a team-best 11 ground balls. Denison took 25 shots, compared to 22 for Wittenberg.