COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Wittenberg Tigers got off to a fast start against 10th-ranked Roanoke, but the Maroons rallied in a big way, outscoring Wittenberg 9-1 in the second quarter en route to a 16-10 victory in a game played at Colorado College.
The loss dropped the Tigers to 1-2 on the young season. Wittenberg will wrap up Spring Break week competition against the host Colorado College Tigers on Friday, March 11. Roanoke improved to 4-1 on the season.
Wittenberg scored four of the first five goals in the game, but Roanoke re-claimed the momentum in a big way, starting with a goal with just 22 seconds left in the first quarter. That set the stage for a tidal wave of a second quarter as the Maroons scored nine times, including three tallies inside the final 1:20.
Roanoke pushed the lead out to 15-7 heading into the fourth quarter before the Tigers rallied with three of the four goals in the final frame.
The Maroons piled up a 61-35 advantage in shots, in part thanks to a huge advantage in possession. Roanoke won 22 of the game's 28 face-offs, and the Tigers committed four more turnovers in the contest.
Senior Thomas Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) led Wittenberg's offense with three goals and two assists, while senior Andrew Fuss (New Albany, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) added two goals and two assists. Senior TJ Smith (Atlanta, Ga./The Marist School) contributed two goals, senior Will Stocker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) chipped in with one goal and one assist, and junior Brent Whitehead (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and senior Anthony Becker (Galloway, Ohio/Wellington School) rounded out the scoring with one goal each.
Junior David Strahm (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington) led the way in ground balls with four, while junior Alex Dankowski (Pickerington, Ohio/North) finished with three. Strahm also led in caused turnovers with four.
In goal, junior Aaron Blossey (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) started and made seven saves before giving way to junior Nick Gregory (Mukilteo, Wash./Kamiak) in the second half. Gregory was credited with a whopping 18 saves in relief.
Written By: Ryan Maurer