Tigers Hold Off Ohio Wesleyan To Win NCAC Opener

Sheryl Chambers

DELAWARE, Ohio - Wittenberg's women's soccer program first earned varsity status in 1986. In the years since, the Tigers had always come up short against perennial powerhouse Ohio Wesleyan - until Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. On that day, Wittenberg captured a hard-fought 1-0 win at OWU's historic Roy Rike Field, in the process reaching a personal milestone for Head Coach Norm Riker as he won his 100th career game.

Amazingly, the goal scored by sophomore Sheryl Chambers (Victorville, Calif./St. Joan of Arc) in the 35th minute was Wittenberg's first in the Riker era at Ohio Wesleyan. The victory moved the Tigers to 6-1-3 overall and 1-0-0 as the 2009 season hit the midway point and the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) campaign heats up.

"This is a huge win for our program," Riker said. "To win at Ohio Wesleyan, to win our first conference game of 2009 - it's a perfect way to start our conference season. We played well in our nonconference schedule, and then to play well against a conference rival is a great way to keep the season going in a positive direction."

Not surprisingly, the win was anything but easy. The Tigers recorded their ninth shutout in 10 games to improve to 6-1-3 overall and 1-0-0 in the NCAC, heading into a key home game Saturday against unbeaten Wooster. Ohio Wesleyan, which was just the second team in 2009 to outshoot the Tigers, dropped to 4-5-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the NCAC.

The Bishops forced Wittenberg's freshman goalkeeper Melissa Gartner (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) into a season-high four saves, not including a team defensive save that was also credited to the Tigers. In all, OWU took 15 shots to Wittenberg's 13 in the game, and the Bishops enjoyed an 8-5 edge in corner kick opportunities.

Chambers and freshman Kailey Streibel (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) led the Tigers with three shots each in the game.