DePauw Slips Past Tiger Women's Soccer, 2-1, On Late Goal

GREENCASTLE, IN – After a string of ties, Wittenberg Women's Soccer was left with little margin for error heading into the final three games of the 2024 regular season. In desperate need of a win, the visiting Tigers surrendered a second-half goal that led to the one thing they absolutely couldn't afford - a loss to North Coast Athletic Conference-leading DePauw.

An unassisted goal by DePauw's Caroline Tally at the 78:36 mark lifted the host Tigers over Wittenberg, 2-1. With the win, DePauw improved to 9-4-3 overall and 3-0-2 in the NCAC, good for 11 points, one clear of Denison in the standings. Wittenberg, which won the league's regular regular season title a year ago, fell to 3-5-5 overall and 1-2-2 in the NCAC with two conference matches, against Oberlin and Hiram, remaining on the regular season schedule. With just five points, Wittenberg is in sixth place out of eight teams and likely needs to win its last two games to have an opportunity to compete in the four-team NCAC Tournament.

DePauw and Wittenberg both came into this game with ties in each of their last two games. After DePauw's Sophia Patrey opened the scoring with an unassisted goal at the 23:56 mark of the first half, the visiting Tigers finally came up with a response after halftime. Chamberlain Browning (Troy, OH/Troy) pulled Wittenberg event off an assist by Grace Koperna (Macedonia, OH / Nordonia) in the second half at the 54:59 mark of the game. Brooke Mullis (Lawrenceburg, IN/Taylor) and Koperna led Witt in shots with three each. Koperna and Browning each had two shots on goal. Wittenberg goalkeeper Lily Winkle (Cynthiana, KY / Harrison County) recorded four saves.

DePauw has been tough to beat on its home field this season, posting a 7-1-1 record. Goalkeeper Aubree Empie had eight saves on the night for DePauw. Neither team was issued a red or yellow card. DePauw was called for 12 fouls to Wittenberg's seven. DePauw had 10 shots and six on goal, while Wittenberg had 15 shots and nine on goal. Corners were 5-4 in Witt's favor.

DePauw leads Wittenberg in the overall series that started in 1989 with a record of 20-12-2. Witt won the battle last year by a score of 3-2 at home.

Next up, Wittenberg will play host to Oberlin in another NCAC match at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26. It will be Senior Recognition Day.