Two Second-Half Goals Send Kenyon Past Tigers

GAMBIER, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers wrapped up the 2014 season with a 2-0 road loss to Kenyon in the semifinals of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament.

The loss was Wittenberg's third in a row, dropping the Tigers to 8-8-1 overall after a 4-4-0 mark in the NCAC regular season. That was good for fourth place in the final standings, but Kenyon avenged its only conference defeat during the regular season to improve to 11-7-1 overall and move into the tournament championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8.

In Wittenberg's 1-0 home win over Kenyon two weeks earlier, the Tigers controlled much of the action but were outshot thanks in large part to the Ladies' counter-attacking capabilities. In the return trip, the top-seeded Ladies made good on their counter-attacks for a pair of second-half goals.

The first came in the 60th minute after Wittenberg committed a costly foul in its own penalty area. Kenyon's Maggie Smith converted on the ensuing penalty kick, and the Ladies put the game out of reach with a breakaway in the 78th minute. The score came on the heels of a long throw-in by Wittenberg freshman Leah Soutar (Troy, Ohio/Troy) into the Kenyon box that was collected by the Ladies' goalkeeper and quickly punted out, and it came just minutes after an apparent Wittenberg goal was disallowed due to an offsides call.

The final shots' tally was dead even at 14-14 in the game, with each team holding a three-shot edge in a half. The Tigers had a commanding 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Senior Tobie Weston (Worthington, Ohio/Worthington Christian) led both teams with six shots, while junior Kate Burns (Granger, Ind./Penn) added three attempts on goal. Just three Wittenberg shots were directed on frame, while junior goalkeeper Maggie Grieser (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham) made six saves at the other end of the pitch.

Written By: Ryan Maurer