Rally Falls Short As Tigers Lose First Of Season To Stevenson

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers dropped their first game of the 2014 season as perennial powerhouse Stevenson pulled away in the closing minutes for a 16-12 victory at Edwards-Maurer Field.

The loss dropped Wittenberg to 3-1 on the season, while Stevenson, which has played one of the most challenging schedules in the country so far, improved to 5-4.

The Mustangs jumped on top with the first three goals of the game, and by halftime Stevenson held a commanding 9-4 advantage. The Tigers whittled away at the lead throughout the second half, eventually getting it down to 12-11 on a goal by sophomore Carrie Kubasta (Medina, Ohio/Medina) at the 7:02 mark and 13-12 on a free-position goal by junior Beth Hubbard (West Hartford, Conn./Notre Dame de Sion (Mo.)) with 3:42 remaining.

That was as close as Wittenberg would get, however. Stevenson answered with three goals in the final three minutes, including two from Leah Warner, who totaled a whopping eight scores on the day.

Junior Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) had another outstanding offensive game, scoring five goals, including a tremendous run at the goal from midfield midway through the second half to get the Tigers within striking distance. She was shadowed by a Stevenson defender the rest of the game.

Her teammates did plenty to pick up the offensive pace as senior Francine Murzynski (Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic) contributed three goals and one assist, Kubasta chipped in with a pair of goals, senior Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH)) dished out a pair of assists, and Hubbard and sophomore Olivia Lash (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) each finished with one goal.

Murzynski and Kubasta led both teams in ground balls with seven apiece, while Kubasta did tremendous work on draw controls, corralling five in the game. Warye added five ground balls and sophomore Sara Ellis (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South) added four ground balls.