Sophomore defender Kelly Foley set up the winning goal against the College of Wooster.

Springfield, Ohio — The Wittenberg University women's soccer team has earned the opportunity to play in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third straight year – and third time in school history.

The Tigers, fresh off a 1-0 double overtime win at home over the College of Wooster in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8, will travel to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., for a first-round game against the University of Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14. Wittenberg brings records of 11-3-6 overall and 5-2-1 in the NCAC regular season, which was good for second place in the final standings, into the national competition.

The winner of the game between Chicago and Wittenberg will play the winner of the day's first game between host Calvin and Mount St. Joseph at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, also at Calvin. The team that advances will play in the Round of 16 at a site to be determined the weekend of Nov. 20-22 against the team that emerges from a three-team bracket hosted by Messiah College (Pa.).

After starting the season ranked in the first three National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division III polls while posting four wins and two ties in their first six games, the Tigers struggled a bit in the middle of the season before finishing strong. Wittenberg is 6-1-2 in its last nine games.

The Tigers are 0-1-3 against teams that qualified for the 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament, with a loss to NCAC regular season champion Denison and ties against Mount St. Joseph, Centre and Emory. Wittenberg's record in NCAA Division III Tournament play is 2-1-2, with four of the first five games in program history being played in Springfield. The Tigers' lone road game in national tournament play was a 1-0 loss to Ithaca in a game played at York (Pa.) in last year's Round of 16.

The Tigers, who have posted 11 shutouts and have allowed just 13 goals in the entire 2008 season, are led offensively by Suzanne Medwid, class of 2009 from Columbus, Ohio, with 13 total points, including a team-best seven assists, and Corey Shubitowski, class of 2009 from Columbus, Ohio, with team-highs of 14 total points and seven goals, including three game-winners.

Defense is the team's trademark, even after replacing three starting defenders and an All-American goalkeeper from the 2007 squad that set a school record for wins (18) and shutouts (18) in a season. Goalkeeper Jordan Bamberger, class of 2009 from Solon, Ohio, has a goals against average of 0.60 and a saves percentage of 81.7 to rank third individually in the NCAC while the Tigers rank first in the conference as a team in goals against average.

Written By: Ryan Maurer
Photo By: Brad Tucker

Related Links: Wittenberg Women's Soccer Home Page 2008 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament Bracket