Wittenberg Wins Biggest Game Of Season Over Wooster

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It was the kind of dominating performance that the Wittenberg Tigers absolutely had to have. On Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, the Tigers put it all together with a 2-0 win over visiting Wooster, in the process moving into a three-way tie for second place in the final North Coast Athletic Conference standings.

The Tigers, who are now 14-4 overall, including a 5-3 mark in the NCAC for a second straight year, lost both tiebreakers with co-second place finishers Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan by virtue of head-to-head losses. Wittenberg is the No. 4 seed in the four-team NCAC Tournament, and thus will hit the road on Wednesday for a game against nationally ranked Denison, the top seed in the competition.

A year ago, Denison was the No. 2 seed and Wittenberg the No. 3 and the Tigers won the semifinal match-up in a shootout after a scoreless regulation and two overtime periods. While it went down in the record books as a tie, the Tigers advanced to the NCAC Tournament title match for the first time in school history. Wittenberg lost to Ohio Wesleyan in that match.

Against Wooster, the Tigers got on the board in the game's 26th minute. Sophomore Sydney Bates took things on her own, scoring an unassisted goal to give the Tigers all they would need. For insurance, sophomore Amanda Farrell scored 84 minutes into the game, with the assist going to Bates.

The Tiger defense did the rest, posting the 13th shutout of the season and extending the school record broken last weekend with a 2-0 win at Hiram. Wooster was not credited with a single shot in the game, thus Wittenberg sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke was not forced into any saves. Wittenberg attempted 11 shots, five of which were directed on goal.