Tigers Slated Number One Seed In NCAC Tournament

Katie Babcock

Emily Duh

The Tiger field hockey team continues to get the job done in the race for the regular season conference championship and is in line to serve as the host team and No. 1 seed in the first-ever NCAC Tournament. Semifinals are slated for Saturday, Nov. 2 and the championship game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Wittenberg remained atop the standings by defeating Kenyon last Tuesday 4-0 and then returning home and winning a hard-fought 3-2 overtime decision against Oberlin. It was the second straight one-goal decision for the Tigers over the Yeowomen, their likely NCAC semifinal opponent. Against Kenyon, junior Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) had two goals, senior Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) had a goal and an assist, sophomore Blair Ufer (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) tallied a goal and freshman Emma Rufleth (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School) chipped in with an assist. All four goals came in a second-half offensive barrage that broke open a 0-0 halftime tie.

Against Oberlin, the Tigers couldn't hang onto a second-half lead but rallied for a goal four minutes into overtime to pull the win out. Duh had the two goals in regulation, including one on a penalty shot in the second half, and Babcock scored the game-winner in overtime. Rufleth assisted on Duh's first goal, while Ufer got the helper on the score in OT.

In net, sophomore goalkeeper Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) allowed just her sixth and seventh goals of the season against Oberlin. She entered the weekend ranked No. 1 in the nation in saves percentage.

On Saturday, the Tigers took to the road for the annual Fall Break weekend. The first game in what is expected to be a very telling trip resulted in a 2-0 defeat at Juniata on Sunday. On Tuesday, the trip concludes with a game at eighth-ranked Lebanon Valley College. The Tigers are rated No. 13 in the latest national poll.