Wittenberg Derailed By Kenyon For Second Straight Year
The Wittenberg Tigers have the highest of high hopes in 2005, and while Tuesday night's 2-1 double overtime loss at Kenyon will not put an end to them, for the second straight year the Ladies put a damper on the Tigers' parade.
GAMBIER, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers have the highest of high hopes in 2005, and while Tuesday night's 2-1 double overtime loss at Kenyon will not put an end to them, for the second straight year the Ladies put a damper on the Tigers' parade.
Wittenberg dropped to 11-3 overall and 2-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, less than 24 hours after the Tigers broke into the NCAA Division III top 25 for the first time since 1995. Kenyon moved into the drivers' seat in the NCAC with an 8-3-1 overall record and a mark of 3-0 in the conference.
The Tigers got on the board first, scoring 19 minutes into the game on a shot by senior Melissa Gallion, off a feed from leading scorer Lisa Rusch. It looked like the defensive-minded Tigers were going to use their usual winning formula of scoring just enough and controlling the action to come away with a narrow victory. But just like last year when the Ladies beat Wittenberg 4-1 on a rainy afternoon in Springfield, Kenyon responded and wound up coming out with a win.
The equalizer came in 78th minute of the game, creating an overtime situation. After a scoreless for 10 minutes, Kenyon scored the game-winner just over one minute into the second extra session to capture the win.
Wittenberg outshot Kenyon 14-13, but the Ladies got five saves in the game, compared to four from Wittenberg goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke. It was only the fourth game all season that the opposition had scored on Wittenberg, with 10 of the Tigers' 11 wins coming via shutout.