2005 News
The relatively young Wittenberg field hockey team put together another fine season in 2005, despite significant personnel losses following the program's third straight conference championship in 2004 and two coaching changes in a span of 12 months.
Another banner fall sports season has reaped rich rewards for 34 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks, and a number of those individuals have also claimed regional and national awards.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Denison senior forward Jenny Lacey (Phoenix, MD/Notre Dame Prep) and Oberlin senior back Rosemary Mudry (University Hts., OH/Laurel School) have been named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year to highlight the 2005 All-North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey selections.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Wittenberg senior forward Julie Wickham (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) capped her outstanding career in the Red & White with first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors. She led a four-person contingent of Wittenberg player on the All-Great Lakes Region honor roll.
The Wittenberg field hockey team battled all season, and while the Tigers’ three-year run atop the North Coast Athletic Conference came to an end in 2005, a lot of positives can be found.
For the first time in the four-year history of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Wittenberg Tigers were forced to take to the road. Then on Wednesday, also for the first time, the Tigers lost an NCAC Tournament game, ending their season with a 2-1 road loss against Wooster.
For the second straight year, the Wittenberg Tigers traveled to Oberlin for a regular season-ending game. For the second straight year, a great deal was on the line and the Tigers rallied for a 2-1 overtime win.
Wittenberg is always a busy place during its annual Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, especially in and around the athletic complex. The 2005 Homecoming and Reunion Weekend may well be the topper.
The Wittenberg Tigers may have just one senior on the roster in 2005, but they still wanted to send forward Julia Wickham out on the right foot, in the process hopefully assuring themselves at least one North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament game at home next week. It didn't happen, however, as the visiting Denison Big Red rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory at Edwards-Maurer Field.
When trying to win a conference championship, it's never advisable for a team to spot its homestanding opponent two first-half goals. However, sometimes a team learns just what it is made of in times of crisis, and that just may have been the case for the Wittenberg Tigers as they rallied past Ohio Wesleyan 3-2 in overtime.
The Wittenberg field hockey team is well positioned for a strong stretch run to the 2005 season.
The Wittenberg Tigers took a big step toward their season-long goals on Wednesday, easily defeating Earlham, 6-0, at Edwards-Maurer Field. It was the Tigers' biggest scoring output of the 2005 season, topping the four goals scored 10 days earlier in a win over Transylvania.
The College of Wooster has been a house of horrors for the Wittenberg Tiger field hockey team in recent years, and Saturday was no different. Just weeks after handling their arch-rival 2-0 on their home turf, the Tigers were defeated 3-1 at Wooster in a key North Coast Athletic Conference regular season game.
The Wittenberg field hockey team has picked up steam at just the right time, winning seven of its last eight games and moving into firm control of its own destiny in the North Coast Athletic Conference regular season title chase.
The Wittenberg Tigers have been getting by for the most part on defense and timely offense in 2005, but on Saturday at Edwards-Maurer Field Wittenberg took what may have been an important offensive step forward, crushing Transylvania 4-1 in nonconference action.
The turnaround continued on Wednesday as the Wittenberg Tigers won for the fourth straight time and the fifth time in six games with a key 2-1 road win over Kenyon. The win avenged an earlier loss to the Ladies, last year's North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament runner-up to the Tigers.