Tom Dwyer ‘16
dwyert@wittenberg.edu
Despite falling short in their last two regular season games, this week the Tiger Women’s Soccer Team’s 4-4 Record in conference play was good enough to secure them the fourth and final spot in this week’s NCAC tournament. The Tigers will travel to Grambier to take on top seed Kenyon at 2:15, with the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA double playoffs still on the line in the conference tournament.
While Kenyon boasts an impressive 7-1 conference record, the Tiger squad is sure not to be an intimated underdog, as the Lords’ lone conference defeat came at the hands of the Tigers in the October 22 showdown between the two teams; the Tiger goal came off the foot of Chelsea Marcum, ’15. The Lords are lead by senior forward Rebecca Romaine, who notched 14 goals on the year, leading Kenyon to the regular season conference crown.
The Tigers will have to rebound from a frustrating week in which they failed twice to clinch their spot in the NCAC tournament by a victory of their own. The first disappointment came in the twenty-third minute of last Tuesday’s final home match of the year. Alex Murietta, ‘18, dove to make a stunning save, but was unable to control the ball, as opportunistic DePauw forward Carolina Zanidia buried the rebound for the lone goal of the game. Despite the result, the Tigers dominated the game, outshooting their counterparts from DePauw 20-5. The DePauw goalkeeper’s defense of the net was staunch as she batted away seven Wittenberg shots on goal. The Tigers were able to hold such a firm grasp of possession due to the stellar play of Tiger defenders who were able to keep the ball rattling around in the DePauw side of the field. The Tigers found plenty of opportunities, led by Marcum’s four shots.
The Tigers then wrapped up the regular season Saturday on the road against the Gators of Allegheny. The Gators notched a goal in each half to build a 2-nil lead, which they would never relinquish. Although they were not able to find the back of the net, the Tigers where able to muster 10 shots against the tough Gator defense. The Tiger attack was led by Tobie Weston, ’15, who struck for three shots against the stingy Gator defense.
On the other side of the bracket, the Dension Big Red will take on the Allegheny Gators with the winner set to take on the winner of the Witt-Kenyon match up for the conference crown. The Tigers fell to the Big Red earlier in the year by a score of 4-2 on the road.
