Wittenberg Defeats Oberlin To Earn Spot in NCAC Tournament
The Wittenberg Tigers won the game they had to win, and when both Allegheny and Kenyon were defeated in similar win-or-go-home games, the storybook ending was complete. The Tigers, with freshmen and sophomores scattered throughout the roster and all through the starting lineup as well, had advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2001 with a 2-0 victory over Oberlin College.
OBERLIN, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers won the game they had to win, and when both Allegheny and Kenyon were defeated in similar win-or-go-home games, the storybook ending was complete. The Tigers, with freshmen and sophomores scattered throughout the roster and all through the starting lineup as well, had advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2001 with a 2-0 victory over Oberlin College.
The win improved Wittenberg to 11-3-4 overall and 5-3 in the NCAC, two games better than the Tigers had finished in the NCAC in each of the first two years under Head Coach Norm Riker. The Tigers finished third in the regular season conference chase, behind only nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan and Denison, both of which scored one-goal wins over Wittenberg in recent weeks. The Tigers get a re-match at 14th-ranked Denison on Wednesday.
In this one, the Tigers jumped on top just 15 minutes into the game as senior midfielder Rachel Ridgeway scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal off an assist from freshman midfielder Lisa Rusch, the team's leading scorer in 2004. Ten minutes later, sophomore Kelly Kreiger scored her first collegiate goal off an assist from sophomore defensive back Jamie McIntyre to make the score 2-0.
From that point, the conservative Tigers continued to find opportunities to score, but nothing made it to the back of the net, despite outshooting Oberlin 14-5. Freshman goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke was credited with five saves.