Springfield, OH- On a steamy Friday evening, the Wittenberg women's soccer team hosted its Division II neighbor Cedarville in its opening match of the season. A balanced first and second half effort led Cedarville to a 4-2 win, as the Tigers dropped to 0-1 on the season.

The Yellow Jackets wasted no time on the offensive front, with Payton Fraley connecting on a header that went wide of the net less than one minute into the contest. Cedarville continued to attack from the width, and at the 37:25 mark, from the top of the 18', sophomore Seren Johnson drilled the ball into the far right of the goal, to give Cedarville the early 1-0 advantage.

Five minutes later, Cedarville extended its lead, as senior Megan McClish sent a through ball to Fraley, and this time she was able to find the back of the net to give the Yellow Jackets the early 2-0 lead.

In the waning minutes of the first half, the Tigers were also able to get on the scoreboard as sophomore Ava Otey (Columbus, OH / Olentangy Orange) scored off a cross from freshman Sarah Deaton (Monroe, OH / Monroe). The lone goal of the half provided a spark for the Tigers heading into the break.

However, Cedarville came out firing early with just four minutes into the second-half, as graduate student Emily Walton tallied her first goal of the night off a corner kick from junior Sophie Browndyke to extend the Yellow Jackets' lead 3-1. Less than 10 minutes later, Walton scored her second goal of the night, and Cedarville took a commanding 4-1 advantage.

Otey mirrored Walton's two-goal night effort as she tallied her second goal of the evening for the Tigers midway through the second half, set up by an assist from Alex Hill (Powell, OH / Olentangy Liberty). Next up for the Tigers is a road trip to Transylvania for a 3 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, September 1.

Written By: Courtney Burchett