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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers were unable to hold onto an early lead and wound up finishing in a 2-2 tie with visiting Otterbein.
The Tigers moved to 0-3-1 overall, while Otterbein is now 1-1-2. Wittenberg returns to action at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, at Ohio Northern.
Wittenberg had the run of play in the opening half en route to a 2-0 lead. Junior Tom Fisher (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) opened the scoring as he finished a long cross from junior Robbie Farquhar (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) in the 16th minute, a play set up by a perfectly played through ball by junior Spencer Hogue (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome). That was followed 16 minutes later by a goal by senior Brian Glenn (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy), who scored after a long pass from junior Nate Ayres (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson).
The lead evaporated in the second half as the Cardinals controlled the action over the last 65 minutes, including the two overtime periods. Matthew Beckett scored twice for Otterbein on headers, and Otterbein nearly captured the win in the final minutes before sophomore goalkeeper David Rea (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) came up with a clutch save from point-blank range to keep things knotted up.
Neither team got much going in the overtimes, although Otterbein did have a golden chance thwarted off a corner kick in the second overtime session. A short range shot was knocked away by Wittenberg junior Daniel Broidy (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley), who was stationed on the near post.
For the game, Otterbein held a 15-8 advantage in total shots and an 8-4 edge in corner kicks. The Tigers were forced into seven saves, with four credited to Rea in 37 minutes of relief work.