Tigers Hold Tight Despite Tough Competition
It was the toughest of weeks for a relatively young, aspiring Tiger men's lacrosse team. In two games last week, victory was in their clutches both times only to lose the games - to arch-rivals Kenyon and Wooster, no less - by a combined total of just four goals.
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| Alex Nichols | Dan Patterson |
It was the toughest of weeks for a relatively young, aspiring Tiger men's lacrosse team. In two games last week, victory was in their clutches both times only to lose the games - to arch-rivals Kenyon and Wooster, no less - by a combined total of just four goals.
The Tigers headed to Kenyon on Wednesday, April 10 riding a four-game win streak in which they had outscored their opposition 72-3. The Lords are one of the league's best teams, in contention with national powers Denison and Ohio Wesleyan for the conference crown and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament next month. The Tigers, as they have all season, hung tough throughout, surrendering an early 2-0 lead and eventually falling 12-9, despite a late comeback attempt. In the game, senior Alex Nichols (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) had three goals, junior Dan Patterson (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) added a goal and two assists, freshman Cory Essig (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) had two goals and an assist and sophomore Hans Rydquist (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) notched a goal and an assist.
Against Wooster on Saturday, the unthinkable happened as the Tigers coughed up a 10-9 lead in the final 11 seconds to lose 11-10. The winning goal bounded into the net with one second left on the clock, deflecting off a Wooster player's helmet.
Fortunately for Wittenberg, that game did not count toward the NCAC standings, unlike the Kenyon game, which left the Tigers at 1-2 in conference play. In the game, Essig found the back of the net three times and added an assist. Nichols contributed a goal and two assists, while junior Tom McHugh (St. Louis, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) had two goals and senior Justin Bitner (Lansing, Mich./Waverly) added a goal and an assist.
Despite the bad bounces, Tiger goaltender Kyle Prussing (New Concord, NH/Concord-Carlisle) leads the NCAC in save percentage at 62.7. Patterson seventh in points per game with 3.67 and fourth in assists per game with 2.11, while Essig is ninth in points at 3.57 and seventh in goals with 2.57.
Four of Wittenberg's five losses this season have been by three goals or less, and two have been by a single goal. The Tigers will have three opportunities to turn things back around this week as they travel to Denison for a make-up game on Tuesday and then enjoy a two-game weekend homestand against Colorado College and Wheeling Jesuit.