Tigers Grind Out 7-5 Win Over Wooster

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers battled through inclement weather and a determined Wooster defense to pick up a much-needed 7-5 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory.

Wittenberg had started off the NCAC portion of the 2014 schedule with a disheartening 6-5 loss at Kenyon a week earlier after starting the season with five wins against just one loss in non-conference action. The Tigers found themselves in a similar situation against Wooster before scoring the last three goals of the game.

Key to the comeback was a sterling defensive performance. The Scots managed just one goal in the second half and were held scoreless over the final 20:18 of the game as junior goalkeeper Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) finished with 14 saves.

The Tigers held a narrow 35-31 edge in shots, but in the fourth quarter Wittenberg dominated to the tune of 13-5. Senior Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, Ga./McIntosh) scored the tying goal with 2:27 left in the third quarter, junior Sean Kelleher (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) put the Tigers ahead with 13:58 remaining, and sophomore Thomas Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) rounded out the scoring at the 9:42 mark.

Senior Jordan Shoger (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) led the offense with three goals, while sophomore Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) dished out two assists. Bornhofen added an assist to his goal, Thomas Fuss finished with two goals and one assist and three other Tigers added one assist each: freshman Zach Shy (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), freshman Joseph Crawford (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) and junior Ryan Spitzer (Lincolnshire, Ill./Stevenson).

Wittenberg held a 29-21 advantage in ground balls, led by sophomore Matthew Klever (Lebanon, Ohio/Moeller) with four. Spitzer, Bornhofen and Andrew Fuss added three ground balls each.