For Immediate Release May 2, 2009

Contact: Ryan Maurer E-Mail: rmaurer@wittenberg.edu

Mark DeOliveira

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - After a promising start on an unexpectedly perfect afternoon from a weather standpoint, the Wittenberg Tigers were unable to keep pace with perennial powerhouse Ohio Wesleyan in a 13-7 loss.

The defeat spoiled Senior Day at Edwards-Maurer Field and dropped the Tigers to 7-6 overall and 1-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). Ohio Wesleyan, which has never lost to Wittenberg since the Tigers reinstated men's lacrosse as a varsity sport in 1983, improved to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the NCAC, good for second place behind nationally ranked Denison. The Battling Bishops remain alive in the hunt for an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament as well.

The Tigers held a 2-1 lead early in the second quarter when OWU got its offense untracked, rattling off four straight goals to head into the intermission with a 5-2 advantage. After the Tigers closed to within two goals on a tally by sophomore Mitch Cohagan (Pickerington, Ohio/North) to start the third period, OWU scored four of the next five to put the game out of reach.

Cohagan, junior Ted Winders (Western Spring, Ill./Lyons Township) and sophomore Matt Lord (Pickerington, Ohio/North) each finished with a pair of goals on the day, while junior Jeff Capella (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) quarterbacked the offense with four assists.

Defensively, senior Steve Koppenhafer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) capped his career in the Red & White with a five ground ball performance, while sophomore goalkeeper Mark DeOliveira (East Hanover, NJ/East Hanover) was stellar in net, turning aside 17 shots, including one in the waning seconds that ricocheted off his facemask. As he leapt to corral the ball as it came down, he was laid out by an illegal hit, one of 10 penalties the Battling Bishops drew in the game, compared to two for Wittenberg.

Along with Koppenhafer, the Tigers said goodbye to fellow seniors Sam Henderson (Potomac, Md./Thomas S. Wootten) and Will Wismer (East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids).

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2009 Men's Lacrosse Schedule/Results