Tigers' Fast Start Earns Season Opener Win
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
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0 | 1 | 1 |
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1 | 1 | 2 |
Team Stats
Heidelberg
| Game Statistics | Heidelberg | Wittenberg |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 7 (5) | 11 (8) |
| Saves | 6 | 4 |
| Fouls | 10 | 16 |
| Corner Kicks | 0 | 9 |
| Offsides | 2 | 4 |
SPRINGFIELD, OH - To start their season, Wittenberg Men's Soccer took on the Heidelberg Student Princes for their home opener. Both teams came into their first game of the season looking to improve on their records from the past season. Wittenberg finished last season 4-3-7, while Heidelberg had a record of 1-14-2.
The Tigers fought hard in the first half and with less than a minute to go, two new additions to the team broke the scoreless tie. After a foul on the Student Princes, freshman Ian Sergent (Versailles, KY / Woodford County) was awarded a free kick, which found the right foot of fellow freshman Joseph Yost (Ramstein, Germany / Ramstein American, Germany) and got past the Heidelberg keeper to send the Tigers into half with a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Wittenberg jumped out to a two-goal lead as Jack Pascoal (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) buried a penalty shot in the back of the net. It didn't take long for the Student Princes to answer, as they found the back of the net themselves only a minute later. The rest of the game was a back and forth of fouls and free kicks for both teams in which neither team was able to increase the lead or tie the game. In the end of a chippy game at Edwards-Maurer Field, the Tigers left victorious with a 2-1 win.
Team Leaders
- Jobe De La Cruz (Long Beach, CA / Wilson) led the team in shots with three, while Yost and Casey Meltzer (Cleveland, OH / St. Ignatius) each put two on goal.
- Sergent was the only Tiger to record an assist and Peter Adams (Columbus, OH / Hilliard Darby) saved four of the five shots against him.
Team Comparison
- Wittenberg had 11 shots to Heidelberg's seven, and the Tigers took nine corner kicks, all in the first half, to none for the Student Princes.
- After recording 13 fouls in just the second half, the Tigers ended with 16 fouls committed to 10 for Heidelberg, but only one Tiger was given a yellow card while two Student Princes received yellows.
Next Up
The Tigers will travel down to Cincinnati to take on Mount Saint Joseph on Sunday, August 31 at 5:00 PM before heading back to Springfield to take on Michigan-Dearborn on Tuesday, September 2, at 7:00 p.m.
Written By: Grant Martin