Tiger Women's Lacrosse Defeats DePauw 17-9; Earns #2 Seed in NCAC Tournament

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—On a cold and rainy day in Springfield, Wittenberg women's lacrosse battled the raindrops to down NCAC foe, and fellow Tigers, DePauw, 17-9. The Tigers were led offensively by senior Olivia Lash (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) who netted seven goals in the victory. Lash has been a force as of late for the Tigers, as her seven goal performance marks the fifth straight game that she has scored at least five goals, netting a total of 27 over this stretch. Most importantly, the Tigers secured the #2 seed in the upcoming NCAC tournament, as the visiting Gators of Allegheny will travel to Springfield as the Tigers play host to round one of the NCAC tournament this week.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• The Tigers took a commanding 10-2 lead into halftime on the rainy day, as Lash netted four goals is less than ten minutes for Wittenberg.  
• The first three goals of the day were netted by junior Becca Joseph (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula), who would not score for the remainder of the game, but would notch four assists to her name in the 17-9 win.
• Lash got things going for the Tigers in the second half as well, scoring the first two Tiger goals out of the gate, as the home team took a 12-3 lead.
• Victoria Zysik (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) sent the game to a running clock with 26:48 remaining in regulation, after netting an unassisted goal.
• Wittenberg was efficient offensively, and defensively for the remainder of the half, as the home team coasted to a 17-9 NCAC victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Tigers forced DePauw into 16 turnovers on the day, as Joseph led the Tigers in this category, causing two.
• Katie Reuter (Cleveland, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) and Mary Furlong (Louisville, Kentucky/Sacred Heart) combined for six saves in net for the Tigers on the day.
• Wittenberg was offensive minded in Saturday's victory, as they managed to get 36 shots off to DePauw's 20.

KEY STATS

• Seven different Tigers scored against DePauw, while four different Tiger players notched assists of off the 17 total goals.
• Wittenberg picked up 21 ground balls total in the game, while Joseph and Haley Schroeder (Granville, Ohio/Granville) each led the team with four.

NCAC OPENING ROUND

• Wittenberg will play host to Allegheny on May 4, as the game is set to start at 5:00PM.
• Wittenberg is the #2 seed in the 2016 NCAC Championship Tournament, with Denison at #1, Allegheny at #3 and Wooster at #4.
• Semifinal action will take place May 7 or 8 at 1:00PM with the highest remaining seed playing host.