Wittenberg Stays On Track With 1-0 Win Over Allegheny

Amy Meige

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers' march toward the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament is almost complete. After a 1-0 Homecoming weekend victory over Allegheny, the Tigers have all but clinched one of four berths in the annual postseason affair.

The win moved the Tigers to 14-2-1 overall and 5-0-1 in the NCAC with two games remaining, at Kenyon on Tuesday and Ohio Wesleyan on Friday. It was Wittenberg's sixth straight victory and 11th straight game without a loss. Allegheny fell to 5-8-4 and 3-3-1 in the NCAC.

The 12th-ranked Tigers weren't particularly sharp in this one, but they followed the usual script of opportunistic offense and stifling defense. Just three opponents have pierced Wittenberg's defense this season (for a total of five goals) and the win was the Tigers' 14th shutout of the season, breaking the school record established in 2005 and matched a year ago.

Senior goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) was forced into three saves in the game, and her defensive unit came up with several other key stops. Senior Rachel Morgan (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) made perhaps the biggest one on a free ball in the penalty box during the second half. The ball, O'Rourke and an Allegheny offensive player all arrived at the top of the area at the same time, but Morgan recovered in time to help out the keeper and eventually force the ball back upfield.

Offensively, the Tigers generated plenty of chances, outshooting the Gators 16-5 and garnering seven corner kick opportunities to two for Allegheny. The only score of the game came 10 minutes into the second half as senior Amy Meige (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales) scored off a double-assist from senior Sydney Bates (Milford, Ohio/Loveland) and junior Lauren Johnson (Huntsville, Ala./Hilliard Davidson (Ohio)). Johnson played a long pass into the penalty box and Bates one-touched it to Meige for a quick shot and the game-winning goal.