Tigers Fall In First-Ever NCAA Div. III Tournament Appearance At Roanoke
The Wittenberg Tigers scrapped and scrambled for 60 minutes in their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, but effort wasn't enough against the fifth-ranked Roanoke Maroons, who advanced to the second round with a 15-4 victory.
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ROANOKE, Va. — The Wittenberg Tigers scrapped and scrambled for 60 minutes in their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament appearance, but effort wasn't enough against the fifth-ranked Roanoke Maroons, who advanced to the second round with a 15-4 victory.
The Tigers saw the best season in school history end with a 10-5 overall record, while Roanoke advanced to face Gettysburg on Saturday, May 15, with a 17-2 record.
The Maroons ended the game with a 65-21 advantage in total shots, but 46 of Roanoke's shots came in the final 30 minutes as the Tigers wore down physically. Junior goalkeeper Mark DeOliveira (East Hanover, NJ/East Hanover) played valiantly, recording 12 saves in the third period alone to finish with 19 in the game, but the opportunistic Maroons scored multiple times on broken plays and after scrambles around the net that left Tiger defenders out of position.
Fifth-year Wittenberg Head Coach George Harris certainly wasn't satisfied with the end result or taking solace in any moral victories, but he was proud of the way his spirited team played in their first postseason appearance.
"I can't fault anyone's effort in this game," said Harris, who has led the Tigers to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in program history. "I thought everybody came ready to play. Nobody walked onto that field scared or played like they were afraid to compete.
The Tigers played a fine first half defensively, getting four saves from DeOliveira while also forcing 11 Roanoke turnovers. Unfortunately, Wittenberg's offense was "tentative," according to Harris, managing just one goal on 10 shots while turning it over an uncharacteristic 14 times."This was a great stepping stone for the program and a great experience for these players. I'm very proud of the way this team played tonight and all through the year."
Perhaps the key sequence in the entire game occurred late in the second quarter. Tiger juniorMitch Cohagan (Pickerington, Ohio/North) hit a post with a shot with 1:31 remaining before halftime. Roanoke scooped up the rebound and quickly mounted a counter-attack, scoring with just 44 seconds left after a shot sailed high but was caught by another Maroon player and turned into a goal.
Cohagan was one of four Tiger players to score in the game. Senior Jeff Capella (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and juniors Brady Christensen (Medina, Ohio/Medina) and Matt Lord (Pickerington, Ohio/North) also had tallies, while Lord and senior Ted Winders (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township) had assists. For Lord, it was goal No. 42 on the season, tying the school record.
Action Photos by: Pete Emerson