Wittenberg Falls In Overtime To Ohio Wesleyan In NCAC Opener

Suzanne Medwid

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - In a contest that had all the makings of another classic between the Wittenberg Tigers and the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops, it was the visitors who had the final say when they scored seven minutes into overtime to claim a 2-1 victory. A breakaway goal by Makinzie Krebsbach sealed the win for the Bishops in both teams' NCAC opener.

With both teams coming in with high expectations for the conference slate, it was the Bishops who struck first in the first half, when a corner kick fray in the box resulted in a Jenny Howe goal and a Bishop 1-0 lead at the intermission.

After an even first 45 minutes of play, the second half was clearly dictated by the Tigers, to the tune of a 13-0 shot margin in favor the home side. When it looked as though the Bishop defense would stand tall and shut out the Tigers, Wittenberg found the net in the 75th minute. Sophomroe defender Maggie Amorello (Sutton, Mass./Worcester Academy) headed a corner kick from Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) just under the crossbar to level the match.

In spite of a 20-4 overall shot advantage for the Tigers, the opportunistic counter-attacking Bishops prevailed with the overtime goal to steal the road win. Senior goalkeeper Jordan Bamberger (Solon, Ohio/Solon) was credited with one save but several other diving stops on crosses and other loose balls to keep the Bishops out of the net.

With the loss, the Tigers come out of the gate 0-1-0 in conference play, while their overall record moves to 5-2-4. Wittenberg now hits the road for a critical conference trip to Wooster, where the Scots and Tigers will clash at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4.

Written By: Ben Bradley, SID Assistant