Field Hockey Drops 4-1 Decision To Wittenberg

In a battle of North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey powers, The College of Wooster fell to Wittenberg University 4-1 in Springfield, Ohio, on Sunday (Sept. 24).

It marked Wooster's second consecutive conference loss and dropped its overall record to 4-4 and NCAC mark to 3-2, while first-place Wittenberg improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the conference.

The contest was offensive-oriented with the two teams combining for 47 shots, however, the Tigers did a better job of finding the back of the net right from the outset. Just 5:01 into the match, Wittenberg's Merrill Ackemann opened the scoring on an unassisted goal. Midway through the first half, the Tigers made it a 3-0 game during a 1:45 stretch with a pair of goals from Emily Duh.

Early in the second stanza, Duh posted a hat trick with her third score and gave Wittenberg an insurmountable 4-0 lead.

Despite firing 22 shots on the afternoon and outcornering the Tigers 10-7, Wooster was unable to stop the bleeding until it was too late due to the strong play from goalie Georgina Klinzing, who tallied nine saves.

The Scots' lone goal came from junior Miriam Esber with 14:19 remaining in the second half, while senior Melissa Goodwin came up with eight saves.

If Wooster is to contend for this year's NCAC championship, it is in a virtual must-win situation in its next game against Denison (3-5, 3-1 NCAC). The Scots have a week to prepare for their home game with the Big Red, as the two teams will take the field on Saturday (Sept. 30) at 11 a.m.