Tigers Come Up Just Short at Marietta in OT Thriller

MARIETTA, OH - The Tigers put forward a stellar performance at Marietta, but the Pioneers were able to claw their way back in regulation and capitalized in overtime to give the Tigers their second loss in as many game to start the 2026 season by a score of 11-10.

Wittenberg jumped out to an early lead as Ty Harris (Cincinnati, OH / Sycamore) netted two goals to only one for Marietta. Harris completed his hat trick in the second quarter and was later matched by Travis Demsher (Santa Clarita, CA / West Ranch) as he found the back of the net three times in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 6-3 halftime lead. Demsher added another goal in the third quarter and assisted on his second goal of the day as he found Jackson Lane (Findlay, OH / Findlay) to fire a shot past the Marietta goalkeeper. Demsher netted his fifth goal in the forth quarter and Ethan Pac (Greenwood, IN / Cathedral) added a goal to his stat line that already included an assist from the first quarter. Unfortunately, after 10 goals for the Tigers, the Pioneers had matched them to add another four minutes of game time to deterine a winner. As time wound down to under a minute, neither team had scored, but as the clocked reached 40 seconds remaining, Marietta scored the sudden-death goal to take the win on their home turf.

Demsher led the team in goals with five. He also had 13 shots, nine on goal, to lead the team in each category. Harris added three goals on 11 shots and five on goal along with an assist. Demsher and Clay Habben (Shawnee, KS / Shawnee Mission Northwest) shared the team lead in assists with two. Along with going 8-of-11 on faceoffs, Colten Simkins (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) shared the team lead in ground balls with Hunter Loucks (Knoxville, TN / Bearden) at five.

Goalkeeper Chase Singleton (Springboro, OH / Springboro) had 11 goals against him on 25 shots faced while registering 14 total saves on the day. Marietta's goalkeeper made 15 saves.

Team Comparison

• Wittenberg had 10 goals, nine assists, 49 shots, 25 on goal, and 42 ground balls.
• Marietta tallied 11 goals, six assists, 33 shots, 25 on goal, and 31 ground balls.
• Wittenberg was 20-for-22 in clears, while Marietta was 26-for-32. In face-offs won, the Tigers were 19-of-24 and the Pioneers were 5-of-24. Wittenberg also had 20 turnovers, while Marietta registered 19.

Up next, the Tigers will travel to Adrian to take on the Bulldogs on February 28th for a 1:00 pm matchup.