Tigers Rally Past Ohio Wesleyan For NCAC-Opening Victory

DELAWARE, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tigers kicked off the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) portion of the 2013 season with a come-from-behind 16-13 victory over host Ohio Wesleyan.

The win moved the Tigers to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC, while the Battling Bishops dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Ohio Wesleyan led most of the game, but the Tigers rallied to outscore the Bishops 10-5 in the second half, including four of the last five goals over the final 7:31. The way Wittenberg closed the game stood in stark contrast to the closing 3:18 of the first half, when Ohio Wesleyan scored four of the final five goals – including a buzzer beater.

Wittenberg held a 33-25 advantage in shots and a narrow 22-19 edge in ground balls. Junior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) led the way in the latter category with four, and she also totaled half of the Tigers' caused turnovers with four and corralled three draw controls.

Sophomore Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) poured in five goals to lead Wittenberg's offense, while sophomore Beth Hubbard (West Hartford, Conn./Notre Dame de Sion (Mo.)) added four scores and senior Kellen Morrissey (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill) chipped in with three tallies. Morrissey further stuffed the stats sheet with a team-leading five draw controls.

In goal, senior Katie Bondy (Westerville, Ohio/South) was credited with seven saves. Among the defenders, junior Alex Dressman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) led the way with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.