Tigers Race Past Wooster And Into NCAC Tourney Finals

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers streaked out to a 9-2 in the first 15 minutes and never looked back in a 19-11 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament semifinal victory over visiting Wooster.

The win, which avenged a heartbreaking 14-13 double-overtime defeat on the same field to the Scots in the same round a year ago, moved Wittenberg to 14-2 overall after a perfect 8-0 run through the NCAC regular season. The Tigers advanced to the NCAC Tournament championship game for a second time in the last three years.

Wittenberg will take on third-seeded Denison, which beat second-seeded Denison by one goal on the road in the semifinals, in the championship game at 5 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Edwards-Maurer Field. The two teams played a tremendous regular season game on the same turf on April 18, with Wittenberg pulling out a 15-14 decision with a goal in the final four minutes.

Wittenberg, which defeated Wooster 22-11 on April 9 on the Scots' home field, put the game out of reach in the first half. The Tigers scored nine times in the game's first 15 minutes, and by halftime the margin had grown to 14-6.

Wooster rallied with the first three goals of the second half as Wittenberg, the top scoring team in all of NCAA Division III, went 15 minutes without a goal. Wittenberg outscored the Scots 5-2 the rest of the way, however, including three straight goals over the final 6:40.

Wooster held a narrow 32-30 advantage in shots, but sophomore goalkeeper Katie Reuter (Cleveland, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) contributed nine saves to the Tigers' winning effort.

Offensively, junior Logan Warye (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) turned in the second-highest point total in program history as she poured in 10 points on seven goals and three assists. The seven goals are also the second-best in program history.

Warye also blew past a pair of season records during the game. She now has 92 career points, topping the 86 compiled by Kati Robbins in 2001, and 64 goals, breaking the record posted by Jo-El Miller in 1996 and equaled in 2013 by Warye. She also now has 28 assists, the third-highest total in program history.

Sophomore Olivia Lash (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights), junior Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, Ky./Ballard) and senior Alie Marousek (Ballston Lake, NY/Portsmouth (NH)) added three goals each, with Marousek also chipping in a pair of assists. Other stats of note included six draw controls each for Marousek and sophomore Carrie Kubasta (Medina, Ohio/Medina), five ground balls for Kubasta and three caused turnovers apiece for Warye, Marousek and Kubasta.