Tigers Fall To Kenyon On Last-Second Goal

GAMBIER, Ohio - Through 59 minutes and 47 seconds, the Wittenberg Tigers and Kenyon Lords had played to a complete stand-off. Neither team had led by more than one goal at any point in the game, and the score had been tied five times.

That's when Kenyon finally got the upper hand, burying a shot with just 13 ticks left on the clock to secure a hard-fought 6-5 victory. The win gave the Lords an overall record of 5-3, but more importantly, Kenyon got a leg up on the Tigers in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title chase. Wittenberg fell to 5-2 after dropping the NCAC opener for both teams.

The final statistical analysis reveals just how even this game was. Kenyon held a 28-24 advantage in shots and a 30-24 margin in ground balls. The two teams each were charged with 16 turnovers, and the saves count was eight for Kenyon and seven for Wittenberg.

Sophomore Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) put the Tigers on top with 10:16 left in the fourth quarter, off a feed from sophomore Thomas Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln). It was Wittenberg's third one-goal lead in the game, but it didn't hold up as Kenyon's Fritz Waine struck paydirt at the 8:05 mark and again inside the final 15 seconds.

Andrew Fuss led the Tiger offense with two goals, while Thomas Fuss added one goal and two assists. Senior Jordan Shoger (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) and junior Sean Kelleher (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) contributed one goal apiece, while freshman Zach Shy (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) rounded things out with a pair of assists.

In goal, junior Jay Dolan (Andover, Mass./Phillips Andover) finished with seven saves. He and Thomas Fuss also had three ground bals each, one behind the team-leading four accumulated by junior Riley Boehm (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie).