Late Goal Drops Tiger Men’s Soccer Into 2-2 Draw With Oberlin

SPRINGFIELD, OH – For the longest time, it looked like Wittenberg Men's Soccer was going to post a win on Senior Recognition Day under the lights at Edwards-Maurer Field.

The Tigers came out strong against Oberlin, which started the day just below Wittenberg in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) standings, jumping out to a 2-0 start with a dominant first half. However, Oberlin found the back of the net twice in the second half at the 61:49 mark of the game and delivering the crushing game-tying goal with less than two minutes remaining to secure a 2-2 draw.

It was the Tigers' third tie of the season and puts Wittenberg at 3-6-3 overall and 1-3-2 in the NCAC. Oberlin is now 5-9-2 overall and 1-4-1 in the NCAC. The tie officially eliminated both teams from contention for the four-team NCAC Tournament with two games remaining in the regular season.

A couple of seniors were in on Wittenberg's scoring. Senior Kees Ciric (Loveland, OH / Loveland) had a great night, scoring both of the Tigers' goals. His first came at the 24:19 mark as Ciric collected a long pass from centerback Anthony Carpenter (Dublin, OH / Coffman) and made a brilliant turn at the top of the Oberlin penalty area to create some space before striking his shot. Ciric struck again at the 31:24 mark off an assist by fellow senior Marcus Orton (Knoxville, TN / Webb School of Knoxville), this time running onto a long clearance and then beating the Oberlin keeper 1-v-1. Ciric recorded nine shots on the night, five on goal, while Casey Meltzer (Cleveland, OH / St. Ignatius) tallied four.

Both of Oberlin's goals were unassisted. Anthony Pacewicz was first to strike on a penalty kick, followed by Xander Francoeur's tying goal at the 88:12 mark of the game for the draw. Pacewicz had two shots total and one on goal, while Francoeur had two shots, with both directed on frame.

Oberlin had seven shots total, four on goal, with all of them coming in the second half. Wittenberg registered 17 total shots - 10 in the first and seven in the second half - and seven on goal. Wittenberg also had the 9-2 advantage over the Yeomen in corner kicks. Fouls were fairly even with Witt committing 11 to Oberlin's 10.

Sam Nitzberg (Cincinnati, OH / Cincinnati Country Day) got the call in goal for the Tigers and registered two saves on the night. Goalkeepers for Oberlin were Grayson Benson with two saves and Vince Fortuna with three saves on the night.

The tie puts the overall series that started in 1968 against the Yeomen at 18-19-5, in favor of Oberlin. Wittenberg defeated Oberlin, 2-1, in 2022 at home and tied the Yeoman 2-2 in 2023.

Congratulations to Witt's nine seniors celebrating Senior Recognition Day. Seniors include Assabir Ali Oumar (Columbus, OH / The Charles School), Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH / Springfield), Kaden Bryan (Yellow Springs, OH / Yellow Springs), Josh Pawlicki (Toledo, OH / Sylvania Southview), Marcus Orton (Knoxville, TN / Webb School of Knoxville), Gabe Porter (Worthington, OH / Kilbourne), Jibril Mohamed (Columbus, OH / Beechcroft), Kees Ciric (Loveland, OH / Loveland), and Mustapha Kinteh (Columbus, OH / Gahanna Lincoln).

Next up, Wittenberg will take on Wabash on the road at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 29.