SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The final score from a 3-0 loss to Ohio Wesleyan hides what was a very exciting game at Edwards-Maurer Field Saturday night, as the Wittenberg men's soccer team played the defending national champion Bishops tough the whole way.

The Battling Bishops scored twice in the last six minutes of the game to skew the final result, but nearly 62 scoreless minutes of soccer stand as a testament to the tenacity displayed by the Tigers, who moved to 5-8-2 overall and 0-4-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC).

Though outshot by a fair margin, the Tigers did not allow a goal until 61:43, and it would be another tense 23 minutes until the Bishops (9-2-3, 3-1-1 NCAC) again found the net. Sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Mengerink (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) did his part in holding the Bishops to a slim 1-0 lead through 84 minutes by making seven saves, and his defensive teammates came through with one team save.

All three Ohio Wesleyan goals were earned in traffic near the Tiger net thanks to the hard work of a defense led by senior Alejandro Garcia (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis) that limited the Bishops' opportunities from range.

Wittenberg took seven shots in the game, led by three from Garcia, followed by two from senior Daniel Broidy (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) and one each from junior Zach White (Lima, Ohio/Temple Christian) and junior Brian Boutin (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon).

Wittenberg continues the NCAC campaign on Tuesday, Oct. 16, with a 7 p.m. road match at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Denison is scheduled to provide live statistics and video of the match, with links to both available on WittenbergTigers.com.

John Strawn '07