Posted by: Ryan Maurer

Alecia Dimar

Eileen Quinn

It was the best week yet for first-year Tiger women's soccer head coach Norm Riker and his young team. After a season filled with near-misses, close calls and injuries to top players, the Tigers captured a pair of hard-fought victories last week over North Coast Athletic Conference rivals Earlham and Oberlin.

The wins improved Wittenberg to 6-9 overall and 3-2 in the NCAC heading into a brutal three-game home stretch against regionally ranked conference rivals Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan and Denison. A 2-0 win over Earlham on Wednesday and a 1-0 victory over Oberlin on Saturday came despite the continued abscence of standout forward and leading scorer Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who is sidelined for the season with knee injury, and the team's top offensive freshman, Lindsay Zigler (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington), who is out with a foot injury. Up stepped freshman Alecia Dimar (Louisville, Ky./DuPont Manual), a defender by trade who pushed into the offense on a couple of occasions last week to score her first two goals of the season. The tallies, both gamewinners, were key factors in Dimar's being named NCAC Women's Soccer Player of the Week.

The first, which occurred just after the half-hour mark against Earlham, came on a shot from 25 yards out that went in by the far post. The second tally of the day came from Emily Hiscar (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial), who was set up by Dimar to score on a deflection off a corner kick.

The feel-good factor worked again on Saturday as they beat Oberlin in front of a busy homecoming crowd. Dimar got her second goal of the season and the week on a header off a corner kick, with fellow freshman Melissa Gallion (West Jefferson, Ohio/West Jefferson) attributed with the assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Eileen Quinn (Glenbrook, Ill./Glenview South) kept clean sheets in both games and has given up just two goals in eight games this season.

Next: 10/16 at Wooster, 4 p.m.

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Mike Walsh

Brian Armstrong

The positive vibrations emanating from the soccer pitch at Bill Edwards Field following a pair of women's soccer victories carried over on Saturday afternoon as the Tiger men's soccer team stunned nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan for the second straight year. The 2-1 win for the hard-luck Tigers, who have lost six games by one goal this season, improved their NCAC record to 1-3 and kept their slight postseason hopes alive. The top four teams in the conference make the postseason tournament.

Junior forward Mike Walsh (Springfield, Ohio/North) joined Alecia Dimar as an NCAC Player of the Week by bagging two goals in 13 minutes to give Wittenberg the victory against OWU, which came in ranked No. 17 in the country and was a national semifinalist in 2001. The goals both came late in the second half, made even more sweet as Wittenberg played 80 minutes with 10 men after having one sent off by a red card. The resulting penalty kick was placed into the goal by Ohio Wesleyan for the early lead.

The game appeared beyond reach with less than 15 minutes to go before Walsh bagged his fourth and fifth goals of the season, the first a header off a Steve Doring (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne) cross. The game-winning goal came courtesy of a long ball played into the box by senior forward Brian Armstrong (Delaware, Ohio/Dublin Coffman).

The Tigers hope to continue this newfound form into their next match against Wabash, one of the teams battling to get back into the NCAC postseason picture. Wittenberg must win at least four of its last five games to have a chance to make the tourney.

Next: 10/16 vs. Wabash, 4 p.m.

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Emilie Schmid

Monica McDonald

It was another outstanding weekend of volleyball for the Tiger program, made that much better by the performance of sophomore Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), who stepped up for the team in a pinch and delivered big-time. She was the key player for the Tigers as they finished second in the Wittenberg National Invitational over the weekend.

Schmid, who last year was primarily used as a defensive specialist and only became a starter late in the season, has been one of the team's top performers in 2002 as an outside hitter. She leads the team in digs and has been a solid offensive player as well, ranking among the best on the team in kills. In last weekend's tourney, Schmid took over the role of setter after NCAC assists leader Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) went down with an ankle injury in a Friday night loss to nationally ranked Baldwin-Wallace.

The week began with a 3-0 NCAC victory over Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday and a 3-1 win over Thomas More on Friday in the first match of the round-robin formatted Wittenberg National Invitational. Then on the final point of a first-game win over B-W, Yuskewich was injured. She played the rest of the match, but the Tigers fell 3-1.

On Saturday, Yuskewich stayed on the bench to rest her sore ankle and Schmid stepped in. She had 65 assists in a morning victory over nationally ranked Nazareth and played well again in an afternoon win over Rochester Institute of Technology.

Of course, Schmid needed a strong supporting cast to do what she did. Sophomore outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) led the team in kills over the weekend and remains the top attacker in the NCAC with 4.75 kills per game. Yuskewich ranked first in the conference and among the top five in the nation in assists per game with 14.53. Before her injury, she was on pace to break the school and NCAA record for assists in a season set two years ago by Wittenberg's Shelli Habegger.

Next: 10/19 @ Hiram, 3 p.m.
10/19 vs. Denison (@ Hiram), 5 p.m.

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Katie Babcock

Blair Ufer

The Wittenberg field hockey team saw its perfect regular season come to an end over the weekend in a 1-0 defeat at Denison on Saturday, but the Tigers responded like the champions they hope to become in 2002, capturing a 4-0 victory at Kenyon on Tuesday. That win kept Wittenberg one game ahead of both Denison and defending champion Wooster in the NCAC race.

In the loss to Denison, Wittenberg outshot its hosts 14-11, but the Tigers couldn't find a way past the Big Red defense, which had yielded four goals in an early-season defeat in Springfield. The lone goal of the game came midway through the second half despite seven saves by sophomore goalkeeper Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown).

Against Kenyon on Tuesday, however, Wittenberg's offense was back on track. Meyer, who leads the NCAC in saves percentage and ranks among the national leaders in several goaltending categories, recorded her ninth shutout of the season by turning away four shots.

Offensively, junior forward Katie Babcock (Phoenix, Md./Dulaney) scored a pair of goals as the Tigers pounded home four second-half goals. In addition, sophomore midfielder Blair Ufer (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) and senior forward Emily Duh (Hellertown, Pa./Saucon Valley) each added goals. Assists were recorded by Duh, the leading scorer in the NCAC, and freshman Emma Rufleth (Clinton, Conn./The Morgan School).

The Tigers now head into the home stretch of the schedule, which also just happens to be the most difficult. After a home game on Friday against NCAC title contender Oberlin, Wittenberg takes to the road and plays at Juniata on Sunday and at eighth-ranked Lebanon Valley College on Tuesday. The Tigers are rated No. 13 in the latest national poll.

Next: 10/18 vs. Oberlin, 7 p.m.

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Jim Lackmeyer

Greg Cornett

All good things must come to an end. On a perfect afternoon for football, that's exactly what happened. The Tigers had streaks of 30 straight North Coast Athletic Conference victories and 36 consecutive regular season home wins snapped as Wabash pulled out a 46-43 overtime victory Saturday.

Billed by many as the Game of the Year in the NCAC, two senior-laden teams started out in a defensive struggle and wound up in an offensive shootout, won by Wabash in the first overtime on a 27-yard field goal. Wittenberg, winner of five straight NCAC titles, fell to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference with the loss, the Tigers' first since Nov. 4, 1997.

The scoring started with 5:24 left in the first quarter as Wittenberg sophomore defensive tackle Joey Binkley (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) blocked a pass senior defensive end Jim Lackmeyer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) caught the deflection and went 22 yards for the score. Then with 2:53 remaining in the opening stanza, senior tailback Daniel Grove (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) went 80 yards on two carries.

Wabash came back to score three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 21-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was a fine back-and-forth affair. In the third quarter, Wabash scored twice and the Tigers responded with a pair of scoring receptions by junior wide receiver Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) from senior quarterback Greg Cornett (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin). The difference, however, was that Wabash made both extra points, while Wittenberg had the first attempt blocked and then had a two-point conversion attempt fail.

In the fourth quarter, Wabash struck first with a touchdown and two-point conversion. Facing a 17-point deficit, the Tiger defense stiffened and the offense drove to a 19-yard field goal by sophomore Jacob Thomas (New Albany, Ohio/New Albany), an eight-yard scoring reception for senior wide receiver Adrian Crane (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) on a pass from Cornett, and Grove tied it with a two-yard run and two-point conversion with just 3:24 remaining on the clock.

Overtime ended as regulation began for Wittenberg, unfortunately. The Tiger offense had a late opportunity to win the game, but an interception stifled the rally with about a minute remaining and then in the extra session the offense couldn't pick up a first down and a field goal attempt went wide right. Wabash picked up one first down and then kicked the winning field goal on third down from the 10 yard line.

It was an amazingly even game on the scoreboard and on the statistics sheet. Wabash finished with 506 yards of total offense, while the Tigers had 497, including a 373-367 advantage through the air in a match-up of the two best quarterbacks in the NCAC.

Cornett had his best statistical game as a starter, setting a school record with 33 completions for 367 yards, a total that ranks No. 2 in school history. Grove had 91 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries and Ivery finished with eight receptions for 91 yards and two scores. In addition, Crane had seven catches for 101 yards and freshman Jered Glover (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown) added 10 receptions for 121 yards. On defense, the Tigers got 11 tackles from senior linebacker Ryan Gresham (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor) and 10 more from senior safety Andy Waddle (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon).

Everyone now wants to know what's next for the Tigers, who were ranked No. 16 in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll. The answer is that Wittenberg is still just one game back in the race for the conference crown and is a front-runner for an at-large berth in the national tournament should the Tigers win the rest of their games. That task was made more difficult by the revelation that Grove and back-up tailback Jason Stephan (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) were both injured in the loss to Wabash. Grove is out at least three weeks with broken bones in his foot. The road back to the playoffs begins again this weekend at 0-5 Hiram.

Next: 10/19 at Hiram, 1 p.m.

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Abi Gerstle

For a second straight week, the Wittenberg men's and women's cross country teams competed in a large meet against dozens of teams from all divisions. Once again, the Tigers acquitted themselves quite well.

Leading the charge at the All-Ohio Championships at Ohio Wesleyan was senior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who finished second among runners from the North Coast Athletic Conference and seventh overall among Division III runners. Freshman Tracy Butler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) was next for the Tigers with a 37th place finish, followed by junior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who wound up 67th.

On the men's side, senior Nick Dewald (Mansfield, Ohio/Senior) led the way as usual, this time turning in a 65th-place finish. Freshman Caleb Arnold (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) was 71st, freshman John Compton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) was 79th and freshman Chris Petrik (Highland Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) finished 80th.

Next: 10/19 @ Ohio Northern