Tigers Earn Scoreless Draw With St. John Fisher To Open Wittenberg Invitational

Nate Ayres

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Through 110 minutes, the Wittenberg Tigers and the St. John Fisher Cardinals were unable to resolve anything, ending in a 0-0 tie in a Wittenberg Invitational game at Edwards-Maurer Field.

For the Tigers, the result is disappointing if only due to the fact that they hit the crossbar twice, a post another time and had a pair of apparent goals nullified by offsides calls. Still, a strong defensive performance allowed Wittenberg to pick up the scoreless draw and move their record to 2-3-2 on the season.

St. John Fisher finished with a 15-13 advantage in total shots, although Wittenberg had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Long-range blasts from seniors Tom Fisher (Ridgefield, Conn./Ridgefield) and Nate Ayres (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) clanged off the frame in the first half and the first overtime period, respectively, while freshman Kevin Bond (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley) had a second-half shot hit the post and bounce away. In addition, two Wittenberg shots were cleared by St. John Fisher defenders after they initially beat the keeper.

Wittenberg appeared to have the game won late in regulation when sophomore Marshall Rowland (Pewee Valley, Ky./South Oldham) played a ball through the middle of the box. Ayres finished the play, but the linesman ruled him offsides.

Fisher and junior Declan McBride (Surrey, England/Tasis) led the Tigers with three shots each.

Defensively, a young Tigers' unit was tested multiple times, but sophomore Alejandro Garcia (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) continued his strong play in the center and junior Michael Lambeck (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) was stout in goal with five saves, including a game-saver from close range on the only shot by either team in the second overtime.