All Releases Written by: Ryan Maurer
Director of Sports Information
E-Mail: rmaurer@wittenberg.edu

Twenty-Eight Wittenberg Student-Athletes And Two Coaches Earn Fall Sport Postseason Awards
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Another banner fall sports season has reaped rich rewards for 28 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks. Read More ...

---

Three Tigers Named To 2004 All-NCAC Teams
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wooster's Brian Conaway (Twinsburg, Ohio/Chamberlin) and Andrew DeBord (Cincinnati, Ohio/Indian Hill) have been named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year to highlight the 2004 All-North Coast Athletic Conference men's soccer selections. Read More ...

---

Ian Acker

The Wittenberg men's soccer team put the wraps on a once-promising season with a 3-1 loss at Wooster on Oct. 30. In losing for a fourth straight game, the Tigers fell to 7-11 overall and 4-5 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, good for a sixth-place tie.

Life in the NCAC is a tough one for any men's soccer program, especially one struggling to generate enough offense to win games. While the Tigers scored for the first time in four games, it wasn't enough to overcome the 15th ranked Scots in a 3-1 loss.

Sophomore Ian Acker (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) scored the goal for the Tigers and sophomore Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School) chipped in with the assist, his team-leading ninth on the season. In goal, freshman Ben McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, Ore./Cleveland) contributed three saves.

Next: Season Complete

---

Sebastian Missura

The Wittenberg men's soccer team has seen a once-promising season sink of late, thanks to three straight shutout, in-conference losses in the last two weeks, the latest being a 3-0 loss at Denison on Tuesday.

That came on the heels of a pair of disheartening 1-0 home overtime losses the previous week to Wabash and Oberlin. After starting 4-1 in the conference, the Tigers now must NCAC leader Wooster on the road on Saturday and hope for help from other teams to qualify for the four-team NCAC Tournament, which opens on Wednesday.

The Tigers have been getting their fair share of shots in recent games, sophomore midfielder Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School) has been credited with eight in the last three games, but nothing has made it into an opponents' goal since a 6-0 win over Hiram on Oct. 16. Missura, the team's leading scorer last year, tops the Tigers with five goals, eight assists and 18 total points in 2004.

Next: 10/30 at Wooster, 3 p.m.

---

Adam Horrocks

The Wittenberg men's soccer team has two of its last four games, but the Tigers remain in control of their own destiny as the season winds toward what promises to be an exciting finish. With a 7-8 overall record, but more importantly, a 4-2 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Tigers have three games remaining to make postseason tournament for the first time in its four years of existence.

That won't be easy, however, as the Tigers close the season with a home game against Oberlin on Saturday and then road games at perennial national powerhouses Denison on Tuesday and Wooster on Saturday. There are as many as six teams still in contention for spots in the NCAC Tournament heading into this weekend's action.

Sophomore midfielder Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School) leads the Tigers with 18 total points, including team-bests of five goals and eight assists. He had three assists in a 6-0 win over Hiram last Saturday. In addition, freshman Evan Ingram (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) continues to play well with 10 total points.

Defense has been the name of the game for the Tigers, despite a host of underclassmen manning key positions in the defensive backfield. The goaltending tandem of sophomore Adam Horrocks (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) and freshman Ben McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, Ore./Cleveland) have combined to record four shutouts on the season and allow 24 goals for a respectable 1.54 goals against average.

Next: 10/20 vs. Wabash, 4 p.m.

---

Ben McAnnis- Entenman

The Wittenberg men's soccer has awoken from its offensive slumber, and not a moment too soon. After losing four straight games, including a pair in overtime, while scoring just two goals, the Tigers exploded in the last week to win their first North Coast Athletic Conference games of the season by scores of 2-0 at Allegheny and 4-0 at Kenyon.

That brings the Tigers into the biggest weekend of the season. Arch-rival Ohio Wesleyan, nationally ranked again this year, visits Springfield on Saturday afternoon for a game between NCAC leaders. Ohio Wesleyan holds a 29-7-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools.

The Tigers made the game matter that much more by defeating Allegheny on goals by sophomores David Ross (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Brian Mutton (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Canterbury). Assists were credited to sophomore Jason Sucher (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual), freshman Joe Zeller (Springfield, Ohio/North) and sophomore Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School). The shutout was credited to freshman goalkeeper Ben McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, Ore./Cleveland), the first of his collegiate career in just his second start.

Against Kenyon, the Tigers scored two goals in each half to bury the 1-11 Lords. Zeller, Sucher, sophomore Eduardo Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School) and freshman Evan Ingram (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) scored the goals and Sebastian Missura, junior Matt Berry (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and senior Jason Ziegler (Waukesha, Wisc./West) were credited with assists. McAnnis-Entenman was up to the task again in goal, although this time he was forced into just one save.

Next: 10/9 vs. Ohio Wesleyan, 3:30 p.m.

---

Levi Van Reeth

The Wittenberg men's soccer team just hasn't found that perfect touch yet, that knack for finding the back of the net at crunch time to pull out a close victory. In dropping to 3-6 overall on the season, the Tigers have lost three one-goal decisions in the last four games.

All is not lost for the Tigers, however. Far from it. The North Coast Athletic Conference schedule opens with a game at perennial powerhouse Allegheny on Saturday, and a win there would go a long way toward turning the season in the right direction. In the sport of soccer, it only takes one perfectly struck ball to get the momentum going again.

Last week, Wittenberg lost a pair of heartbreaking 2-1 overtime home games. First, the Tigers lost to Cedarville last Saturday on a goal with just two minutes left. Then Wittenberg lost in almost the exact same manner to Muskingum on a goal with just six minutes left in the second overtime period.

In the Cedarville game, Wittenberg had taken a 1-0 first-half lead on its only shot, a perfectly struck ball from the top of the penalty box by junior midfielder Levi Van Reeth (Norwich, Ohio/John Glenn). But that lead didn't stand up as the NAIA scholarship program from Cedarville netted the equalizer in the second half and the game-winner on the only shot on goal credited to either team in the 18 minutes of overtime.

Against Muskingum, Wittenberg dominated much of the first 45 minutes but couldn't come up with a score. After the Muskies picked up a goal early in the second half, the Tigers got even on a score by freshman Bryan Lopes (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) off a feed from senior Jason Ziegler (Waukesha, Wisc./West) in the 84th minute. Muskingum slipped one past freshman goalkeeper Ben McAnnis-Entenman (Portland, Ore./Cleveland) in the second overtime to get the nonconference win. McAnnis-Entenman recorded eight saves in the game as Muskingum put a total of 16 shots on the Tiger goal, compared to 11 for Wittenberg.

Next: 10/2 at Allegheny, 1:30 p.m.

---

Sebastian Missura

The Wittenberg men's soccer team has gotten mixed results through the first few weeks of the 2004 season, but the North Coast Athletic Conference schedule still lies ahead with potentially good things in store there. Going into a Saturday afternoon non-conference match-up against Cedarville, the Tigers are 3-4 overall.

The season opened with a 4-0 loss to NAIA scholarship program Ohio Dominican in the first round of the Wittenberg Invitational on Sept. 4, but the Tigers rebounded with a 4-3 defeat of NAIA scholarship program Notre Dame College in the consolation game the next day. In that game, sophomore Sebastian Missura (Quito, Ecuador/American School), the team's top scorer a year ago, turned in his first hat trick, scoring the winning goal with about seven minutes left to play.

A week later, the Tigers defeated Rose-Hulman 2-1 but lost to DePauw 1-0 on a trip through Indiana. On Sept. 14, Wittenberg defeated Urbana 3-2 before losing a pair of games in the Wilmington Kiwanis Classic over the weekend by scores of 1-0 to Transylvania and 3-0 to nationally ranked Wilmington.

Missura leads the Tigers, who have been outscored 15-9 on the season, with five goals and 12 total points, totals that also pace the NCAC currently. Freshman Evan Ingram (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) has added three goals and seven total points, and freshman Bryan Lopes (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) is tops on the team with three assists.

Defensively, the Tigers are very young, starting a variety of different players due to injuries. Sophomore goalkeeper Adam Horrocks (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) has started every game in net and has a saves percentage of .720.

Next: 9/25 vs. Cedarville, 2 p.m.

---

Wittenberg University Men's Soccer to Host Annual Invitational Tournament
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men's soccer season kicks off this weekend with the Wittenberg Invitational Tournament. Four teams, including the host Tigers, will step onto the field on Saturday for two semifinal games, with the winners coming back to play a championship game and the losers squaring off for third place, both on Sunday. The other three teams invited to this year's Wittenberg Invitational are Notre Dame College, Ohio Dominican University and Otterbein College. Read More ...

---

Ohio Wesleyan Tabbed Preseason Favorite For 21st North Coast Men's Soccer Season
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio Wesleyan University, last fall's NCAC tournament champion, emerged as the preseason favorite in balloting by North Coast Athletic Conference men's soccer coaches conducted via email. Read More ... (pdf file)

---

Head Coach Steve Dawson Wins State Title With Youth Club Team
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University Men's Soccer Head Coach Steve Dawson loves to impart wisdom. Whether he is teaching in a classroom as a Health, Fitness and Sport faculty member or shouting encouragement from the sideline during a soccer game, Dawson educates the young people under his direction. Read More ...

Men's Soccer Home Page