Tigers Power Past Oberlin In 3-1 Road Victory

OBERLIN, Ohio – The Wittenberg women's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to four games and now owns a three-game winning streak following a 3-1 win at North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opponent Oberlin College Saturday.

The Tigers improved to 4-2-2 overall with the victory, but more importantly improved to 2-0 in NCAC competition following a 1-0 win at Allegheny on Saturday, Sept. 22.

Prior to defeating the Gators of Allegheny, Wittenberg dispatched Earlham at home by a 3-1 score and tied Case Western 0-0 before that.

Wittenberg finished with a 30-4 advantage in shots, peppering Oberlin goalkeeper Kate Frost with 15 shots in each half.

Wittenberg head coach Kwame Lloyd credited Frost, who compiled 14 saves, as the only factor that kept the final margin from growing even wider.

"Our forwards dominated the game and played well off of each other. Their goalie kept Oberlin in the game."

The Tigers touched the scoreboard first when senior defender/midfielder Amy Cook (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) found freshman forward Kate Burns (Granger, Ind./Penn) for a goal just 7:43 into the match. Oberlin responded with a goal by Abby Weiss just over three minutes later, but the Wittenberg defense tightened down and kept Oberlin out of the net the rest of the way.

The Yeowomen launched their fourth and final shot of the game in the 27^th minute. Throughout the rest of the game, a tough Wittenberg defense led by freshman Mackenzie Bolon (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley), senior Kelly Brothers (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) and sophomore Mary Clare Yerke (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) kept Oberlin from even attempting another shot.

"Our back line played well," Lloyd said. "It was a very well organized effort."

At the same time, the Tiger offense had no trouble getting to the opponent's net. Wittenberg's second and third goals were separated by just 1:41.

The quick strikes started with an unassisted goal by junior forward Kayla Murphy (Dayton, Ohio/Stebbins) at 32:45. Less than two minutes later, freshman forward/midfielder Kaylee Gialamas (Willoughby, Ohio/Hawken) headed in a cross from senior forward Grace Winzeler (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman).

Senior forward Kailey Striebel (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) paced the offense with six shots, followed by Winzeler and Murphy with five each. Senior goalkeeper Cassie Lythjohan (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) was credited with two saves in the game.

Wittenberg suspends its NCAC campaign for a home contest versus Transylvania beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Edwards-Maurer Field on Monday, Oct. 1. Follow the action with live video, audio and stats on the Tiger Sports Network.

John Strawn '07