Tigers Draw With Allegheny To Earn League Title Share

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - For the second straight year, the Wittenberg women's soccer team can lay claim to a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season championship. It was anything but easy in 2013, however, as the Tigers were pushed to the brink in a 1-1 tie with visiting Allegheny on the season's final day.

The tie forced a three-way deadlock atop the NCAC regular season standings between Wittenberg, Allegheny and Denison. Tiebreaker criteria gave the Gators the No. 1 seed for the upcoming conference tournament, followed by Wittenberg, Denison and DePauw, which lost 2-0 to the Big Red earlier in the day.

Allegheny will host DePauw in one semifinal game on Wednesday, Nov. 6, and Wittenberg and Denison will renew acquaintances at Edwards-Maurer Field at 7 p.m. the same day. The Tigers and Big Red finished in a 1-1 tie earlier in the season on the same field.

The Gators jumped on top with a goal 4:55 into the second half as Jaymee Wallace headed in a corner kick by Lauren Miller. But Wittenberg responded with its best spell of possession in the entire 110 minutes, culminating in the game's pivotal moment. At the 65:28 mark, a Wittenberg player was hauled down in the Allegheny penalty area from behind, leading to a penalty kick and the ejection of a Gator defender.

Wittenberg sophomore Zoe Curry (Milford, Ohio/Ursuline) finished the penalty kick to even the score. From that point, the Tigers held a man advantage on the field.

It didn't end up making a difference, at least not on the scoreboard. The two teams traded a handful of quality scoring opportunities the rest of the way, but neither managed to solve the opposing defense, even through two overtime periods.

Allegheny held a 17-13 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corner kick opportunities. Gabby Curtis made six saves in goal for the Gators, while freshman Kelsey Lorko (Fairview Park, Ohio/Fairview) was credited with nine stops for the Tigers.