SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers extended their home winning streak to four in a row with perhaps their most complete performance of the 2014 season, a 5-0 whitewashing of visiting North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Ohio Wesleyan.
The win pushed the Tigers over .500 for the first time in the 2014 season at 5-4-1, to go along with a 1-1 mark in the NCAC. It was the Tigers' second home shutout of the week, coming on the heels of a 2-0 victory over Manchester on Tuesday.
Ohio Wesleyan dropped to 1-8-2 on the season.
The scoreline tells a slightly misleading story, as Wittenberg only held a 12-6 advantage in shots and 5-3 edge in corner kick opportunities. The Tigers cashed in on three of their seven opportunities in the first half, however, to break the game open early.
Senior Chelsey Marcum (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) started things off with an unassisted goal at the 14:09 mark, and senior Erika Rich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) followed just four minutes later with her second score of her career - and the week. Junior Kate Burns (Granger, Ind./Penn) earned the assist after her cross set up the goal.
Senior Tobie Weston (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington Christian) made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute, and she followed that with a tally in the 67th minute off a rare double-assist credited to sophomore Morgan Jones (Louisville, Ky./Atherton) and freshman Emma Hawthorn (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne). Jones crossed the ball from the end line and Hawthorn re-directed it to Westonnear the top of the penalty area, where she struck a shot into the upper 90.
Marcum rounded things out with a sublime strike from well outside the OWU box. Her shot traveled at least 35 yards before nestling into the top right corner of the net for the final score of the night.
Wittenberg's defense did the rest, backstopped by the goalkeeping duo of freshman Alexa Murrietta (Las Vegas, Nev./Shadow Ridge) and junior Maggie Grieser (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), who combined for three saves in the game.
Written By: Ryan Maurer