Tiger Women’s Soccer Finishes Strong in a 4-0 Win At Hiram

HIRAM, OH – Wittenberg Women's Soccer looked like the defending North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champs as the Tigers came out strong on the road against Hiram and pulled out a clutch 4-0 victory in the final regular-season match for both teams Saturday, Nov. 2, at Charles A. Henry Field.

It was the Tigers' second win in a row in which they mounted a robust offensive attack, this time scoring three goals in the first half and one more in the second, all while recording their fourth shutout of the season. With the win Wittenberg improves to 5-5-5 overall and 3-2-2 NCAC, while Hiram falls to 3-14-0 and 1-6 in the conference. It was the third loss in a row for Hiram.

Next up for Wittenberg will be the conference tournament, which was only attainable with wins in their last two games against Oberlin and Hiram. By winning those two games by a combined 7-0 score, the Tigers secured the No. 4 seed in the tourney and will take on host Denison on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. Interestingly, this will be a rematch of last year's semifinal match in which Denison won 1-0, pulling off an upset over the Tigers, then the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

Against Hiram, senior Brooke Mullis (Lawrenceburg, IN / Taylor) turned in a big night for the Tigers, scoring two of the team's four goals. But it was Chamberlain Browning (Troy, OH / Troy) who found the back of the net first at the 6:43 mark of the first half off an assist by Emma Rhodis (Hamilton, OH / Badin). Mullis then scored her first at the 8:51 mark, unassisted. Her second goal came at the 42:50 mark of the game off an assist by Ashley Green (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy) to put the Tigers up 3-0 at the half. Caroline Stupp (Waynesville, OH / Waynesville) made it 4-0 Wittenberg in the second half at the 53:37 mark of the game off an assist by Grace Koperna (Macedonia, OH / Nordonia).

Hiram struggled throughout the evening against a tough Wittenberg defense, managing only three shots in each half. Wittenberg had a total of 28 shots, 12 on goal. Mullis led the team in shots and shots on goal with six and four, respectively.  Sarah Deaton (Monroe, OH / Monroe) added five shots, two on goal, Rachel Spencer (Columbus, OH / Bishop Watterson) added three shots, two on goal, and Browning had two shots, two on goal. Wittenberg goalkeeper Lily Winkle (Cynthiana, KY / Harrison County)  recorded two saves on the night, while Hiram goalkeeper Emma Deffenbaugh recorded eight.

Wittenberg had eight corner kicks on the night to Hiram's two. Hiram was called for eight fouls and Wittenberg for four.