Posted: Mar 16, 2024
MARIETTA — The Wittenberg men's lacrosse team improved to 4-0 with a 14-5 win at Marietta on Saturday night. This marks the Tigers' best start to a season since winning their first four games in 2014.
The Basics
- Records: Wittenberg (4-0 overall), Marietta (3-3 overall)
- Venue: Don Drumm Stadium - Marietta, Ohio
Stat Leaders
- Junior Nathan Brown (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) led the Wittenberg offense with six points on four goals and two assists.
- Sophomore Ethan Pac (Greenwood, Ind./Cathedral) also recorded a hat trick, scoring four goals to go with one assist for five points.
- Sophomore Kyle Gould (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) was the third Tiger to record a hat trick in the game, scoring three goals.
- Sophomore Dillon McKeigue (Olmsted Township, Ohio/St. Edward's) had three points on two goals and one assist.
- Junior Travis Demsher (Santa Clarita, Calif./West Ranch) scored one goal.
- Sophomore Colten Simkins (Liberty Township,Ohio/Lakota East) tallied a team-high six ground balls and was 9-of-11 on faceoffs for the Tigers. Freshman Charlie Frederick (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) was 8-of-10 on faceoffs.
- Sophomore Chase Singleton (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) recorded two saves in goal for the Tigers and earned the win to improve to 4-0. Freshman Griffin Howell (Whitestown, Ind./Zionsville Community) added three saves in the second half.
- Chase Franklin led Marietta with three goals.
The Game
- Gould opened the game's scoring, but Marietta responded to tie the score with 8:49 left in the first quarter.
- Wittenberg closed the quarter with a 3-0 scoring run, getting two goals from Gould and one from McKeigue for a 4-1 lead.
- Marietta scored just 27 seconds into the second quarter to get within 4-2, but the Tigers closed the half with another 3-0 run to take a 7-2 halftime lead. Brown, Pac and McKeigue scored one goal each in that stretch.
- Wittenberg extended its scoring run to 5-0 with goals from Pac and Brown to open the second half for a 9-2 edge.
- After a pair of Marietta goals, Pac and Brown scored back-to-back goals just 12 seconds apart for an 11-4 lead.
- The Pioneers capped the third-quarter scoring with a goal with 1:01 left and entered the fourth trailing 11-5.
- The Tigers outscored the Pioneers 3-0 over the final 15 minutes, getting goals from Pac, Brown and Demsher for the 14-5 win.
- Wittenberg out-shout Marietta by a 48-21 margin and finished with a 33-25 edge in ground balls while forcing 15 Pioneer turnovers.
Quote - Head coach Jay Owen
- "I'm proud of the way these young men battled today. We had to deal with some injuries, and some guys stepped up. Ethan Pac had a fantastic day at attack. Griffin Howell came in in the second half and did a great job in the cage."
Records & Milestones
- Wittenberg is now 19-1 all-time against Marietta.
- Eleventh-year head coach Jay Owen is now 69-72 all-time at Wittenberg.
- Brown has 20 points on eight goals and 12 assists this season. He has 69 career points on 35 goals and 34 assists.
- McKeigue has 20 points on 16 goals and four assists this season. He has 65 career points on 43 goals and 22 assists.
- Gould has 18 points on 15 goals and three assists this season. He has 51 career points on 45 goals and six assists.
- Singleton has an 8-4 career record in goal with 117 saves.
Up Next
- The Tigers return to action on Saturday, March 23, opening North Coast Athletic Conference play at Ohio Wesleyan at 1 p.m.