Tiger Advance to NCAC Championship Game with 14-10 Victory Over Allegheny

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Wittenberg Tiger Women's lacrosse played host Wednesday night to the Gators of Allegheny in the semifinal showdown of the NCAC Championship. Wittenberg came into the game as the #2 seed in the tournament after a 6-2 mark in NCAC play, while the Gators came in as the #3 seed with a 5-3 2016 NCAC record. After it was all said and done, the Tigers walked away with a 14-10 victory behind junior Becca Joseph (Toledo, Ohio/St.Ursula) and her six goal, three assist night. Wittenberg now awaits the winner of #1 Denison, and #4 Wooster in the championship game of the 2016 NCAC tournament. The Tigers will play host to the championship on Saturday if Wooster defeats Denison, while Denison will host the Tigers on Sunday if they prevail in the semifinal match.

GAME BREAKDOWN

• The Tigers managed to open up Wednesday's semifinal showdown with a 5-1 lead, after senior Carrie Kubasta (Medina, Ohio/Medina) got things going for the Tigers early on.  
• Joseph netted four first half goals for the Tigers, as the home team went into halftime with a commanding 9-4 lead.
• Out of the break in the second half, Allegheny mounted a comeback that got as close as 11-8 with 11:26 remaining in the game, before the Tigers managed to regain momentum.
• The free position shot proved to be the Tigers friend in the second half, as the team connected on two key conversions with under ten minutes remaining in the game to take a 13-9 lead.
• Olivia Lash (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Cleveland Heights) not only converted the second key free position attempt into a goal, but also scored on a beautiful pass from Joseph with 3:20 remaining to take a 14-9 lead.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Joseph's nine points was one shy of her season high 10, which she recorded on April 23 against Hiram.
• Joseph's six goals matches her season high that was recorded in the first game of the year against John Carroll.
• Despite turning the ball over 27 times in the game, the Tigers managed to take care of the ball when it mattered, getting off 28 shots in the game.
• In a high intensity game, there were 66 fouls between the two teams.

KEY STATS

• The Tigers picked up 24 ground balls in the semifinal game, as Kubasta led the Tigers with seven on the night.
• Lash managed to get 12 shots off total, leading all players on Wednesday, while the senior netted four goals, which gives her 31 in the last six games.
• In net, Katie Reuter (Cleveland, Ohio/Hatahaway Brown) made 14 saves in her 60 minutes between the pipes.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg awaits the winner of #1 Denison and #4 Wooster in the NCAC Championship game to be played this weekend.
• Check back later for more championship information.