Wittenberg University Athletics - Women's Soccer 2001 News Releases

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2001 Women's Soccer Press Releases

October 30, 2001 -

Geri Woessner

Jill Rekers

The Tigers faced a schedule packed with top-notch regional and national competition and never blinked. And while moral victories are never the team's goal, it must be noted that Wittenberg was extremely competitive every night out during the 2001 season, including in the season finale last Wednesday night at Ohio Wesleyan in the semifinals of the NCAC Tournament.

The second-ranked Bishops jumped on the young Tigers for three first-half goals and then held on as Wittenberg rallied with a pair of its own late in the game to claim a 4-2 victory. OWU then defeated Denison in the title match to advance again to the NCAA Division III playoffs, which begin this week.

In the loss, sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and sophomore Jill Rekers (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) both had goals. Woessner, last year's NCAC Newcomer of the Year, finished the year 10th in the NCAC in points per game with 22 (eight goals and six assists).

October 24, 2001 -

Cristin Gill

Jessica Wright

The Tigers have had their backs against the wall for several weeks. They responded with three wins and a tie in their final four NCAC games to claim an improbable spot in the conference's postseason tournament. Wittenberg, seeded fourth, will open up with the tourney's No. 1 seed, nationally ranked NCAC defending champion Ohio Wesleyan, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in Delaware.

Last week, Wittenberg got things started with a 5-1 win at Cedarville. Sophomore Cristin Gill (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) sparked the offense with two goals and one assist. Freshman Jessica Wright (Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) chipped in with a goal and two assists.

Then on Saturday, the Tigers faced a must-win situation and came through with flying colors. Behind sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) and her four goals and two assists, the Tigers blitzed visiting Hiram 9-0 to assure themselves of the NCAC tournament berth.

The win over Hiram gave the Tigers their first winning NCAC record since 1995.

October 16, 2001 -

Jenny Miller

Geri Woessner

Jessica Wright

Facing their biggest week of the 2001 season and the prospect of elimination from the NCAC tournament, the young Tigers fought back last week to tie Wooster and defeat Allegheny in double overtime. Both teams were ranked in the Great Lakes Region and ahead of Wittenberg in the conference standings when the week began.

The Tigers started off with a 0-0 tie with Wooster, a game in

which both teams had opportunities but couldn't convert. Sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) had her third shutout of the season, and sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) just missed on the team's best scoring opportunity, banging the ball past the Wooster goalkeeper but getting blown for offsides.

In the week's second game, Allegheny jumped on top of the Tigers early in the game, but Wittenberg got the equalizer with just 17 minutes left in the game on a goal by freshman Jessica Wright (Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) off an assist from senior Emily Gersbach (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin). Then freshmen Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) scored the game-winner in the second overtime period, keeping alive hopes that the Tigers could return to the NCAC tournament in 2001.

With the heavy-lifting done, the Tigers step out of conference on Tuesday to face neighboring rival Cedarville. On Saturday, Gersbach will be honored on Senior Recognition Day, moments before Wittenberg and Hiram to take Bill Edwards Field.

October 9, 2001 -

Undaunted by a brutal non-conference schedule in which the Tigers faced seven teams with winning records and three with national rankings, the women's soccer team continues to battle back in hopes of moving back into the NCAC tournament picture. The top four teams in the conference advance to the tourney.

Wittenberg lost at home to Denison 1-0 last Wednesday in a very winnable match against the 16th-ranked team in the country. The Big Red, who are leading the NCAC with a perfect record, made an early goal stand up in the meeting with the young Tigers, who have just one senior on the roster.

Wittenberg bounced back on Saturday at Oberlin with a 5-3 win. Freshmen Rachel Ridgeway (Montclair, NJ/The Taft School) and Jessica Wright (Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) both scored two goals in the game. Wright also added an assist on the second of Ridgeway's goals, which turned out to be the game-winner. Also scoring in the game was senior co-captain Emily Gersbach (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin).

The Tigers now embark on the most pivotal week of their season with home games opposite Wooster and Allegheny. Wittenberg must at worst gain a split to keep its postseason hopes alive.

October 2, 2001 -

After two tough weeks in which the Tigers lost four straight games, the hope is that the ship has been righted after a 1-0 victory over NCAC rival Kenyon on Saturday. Sophomore forward Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) scored a second half goal off an assist from freshman forward Katie Mazzio (Wilmington, Del./A.I. duPont), and sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Miller (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mother of Mercy) made it stand up with eight saves.

The Tigers started last week off with a disappointing defeat at Earlham on Wednesday, a 4-3 decision in overtime. It was Wittenberg's third one-goal defeat already in 2001.

Despite the team's recent struggles, the Tigers can get right back into the conference race this week when perennial power Denison comes calling on Wednesday and then Wittenberg takes to the road on Saturday to face Oberlin. Only the top four teams in the conference make the postseason tournament, so every game from this point is huge for the Tigers, who already have two NCAC losses.

September 26, 2001-

The women's soccer team has played one of the toughest schedules in the country, and while the young Tigers have held their own consistently, they have not been able to break through. Last week, Wittenberg was defeated by NCAC favorite Ohio Wesleyan, the fifth-ranked team in the country, on Wednesday and then traveled to Elmhurst (Ill.) on Saturday and absorbed a 1-0 loss there.

Of Wittenberg's four losses and two ties in 2001, four of the opponents were ranked in the top-20 nationally.

Freshman Katie Mazzio (Wilmington, Del./A.I. duPont) leads the Tigers with five goals on the season, while sophomore Jill Rekers (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) has added four and sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) has chipped in with a goal and four assists.

September 12, 2001-

It has been an uneven start to a promising 2001 season for the Wittenberg women's soccer team, made more difficult by a tough early schedule that leads into an even tougher North Coast Athletic Conference schedule that is set to kick off this week. First up for the Tigers is a road date at nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday.

Wittenberg has claimed victories over Mt. St. Joseph and Rose-Hulman, was dealt losses against DePauw and Transylvania, and has played to ties against Heidelberg and Wilmington. Four of those teams are ranked among the top-10 in their respective regions.

Freshman Katie Mazzio (Wilmington, Del./A.I. duPont) leads the Tigers with five goals and 10 total points, while sophomore Jill Rekers (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) has chipped in with four goals and an assist and sophomore Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) has a team-best four assists in 2001. Rekers scored three goals and an assist in three games last week alone.

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