Tigers Move To Top Of NCAC Table With 2-0 Win At Wooster

Wittenberg got second-half goals from Kaylee Gialamas and Kailey Striebel to move past the Scots and into first place in the NCAC with two games remaining.

Kailey Striebel moved into third place on Wittenberg's career goals list with her score against the College of Wooster in a 2-0 win. File Photo | Erin Pence
Kailey Striebel moved into third place on Wittenberg's career goals list with her score against the College of Wooster in a 2-0 win. File Photo | Erin Pence
October 20, 2012
Box Score

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Wittenberg women's soccer team continued its march through the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), taking sole possession of the top spot in the regular season standings with just two games left to play with a 2-0 win over Wooster.

The win moved the Tigers to 9-3-3 overall, but more importantly Wittenberg now stands at 5-0-1 in the NCAC heading into the final week. Only the top four teams earn berths in the annual NCAC Tournament, and the Tigers are now all but assured of a spot.

Wittenberg can aspire to something greater than simply qualifying for the tournament, however, after controlling action throughout the win over Wooster, which previously had been unbeaten in league play. The Tigers will host DePauw on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Kenyon on Saturday, Oct. 27, with the program's second NCAC regular season title in their grasp, which would bring with it home field advantage throughout the conference tournament.

Wittenberg, which is now 8-1-1 over its last 10 games, outshot the Scots 15-9 in the game. However, it took more than a half for the Tigers to finally dent the scoreboard.

The two teams played defensive first half, combining for just five shots. Just 1:27 into the second half the Tigers broke through on an unassisted goal by freshman Kaylee Gialamas (Willoughby, Ohio/Hawken). Wittenberg then put the game out of reach in the 76th minute on a tally by senior Kailey Striebel (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont).

Gialamas and Striebel share the team lead in goals with junior Kayla Murphy (Dayton, Ohio/Stebbins). All three players have five goals on the season, with Striebel now standing at 28 in her illustrious career in the Red & White, third in program history after moving past Suzanne Sauers (1989-90). Striebel also now has 70 career points, also good for third in the Wittenberg record book.

The shutout was Wittenberg's 10th of the season, and the third credited to senior Melissa Gartner (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula). She came up with four saves to anchor a defensive unit that has recorded four straight shutouts since a 2-0 loss at Thomas More - covering a span of 437 minutes and 44 seconds.