Season Ends At Wooster In 2-1 NCAC Tournament Semifinal Loss
For the first time in the four-year history of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Wittenberg Tigers were forced to take to the road. Then on Wednesday, also for the first time, the Tigers lost an NCAC Tournament game, ending their season with a 2-1 road loss against Wooster.
WOOSTER, Ohio - For the first time in the four-year history of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, the Wittenberg Tigers were forced to take to the road. Then on Wednesday, also for the first time, the Tigers lost an NCAC Tournament game, ending their season with a 2-1 road loss against Wooster.
The loss moved the Tigers to 10-8 overall on the 2005 season after finishing in a second-place tie with Wooster in the final NCAC regular season standings. Wooster improved to 11-8 and will play at top-seeded Oberlin on Saturday in the NCAC Tournament championship game with the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line. Wittenberg won the last three titles and has made seven appearances in the national tourney, the most among NCAC teams since the Tigers joined the conference in 1989.
After a scoreless first half, Wittenberg fell behind on a pair of goals by Wooster's Katelin Bugeler, one of the top scorers in the NCAC. Despite a goal by Wittenberg senior forward Julia Wickham with a little more than four minutes remaining, the Tigers were unable to pull even.
The shots count was 13-10 in favor of the homestanding Scots, who lost in the NCAC Tournament semifinals a year ago in Springfield. Tiger sophomore goalkeeper Nicole Irvin was credited with nine saves in the game.