All Releases Written by: Ryan Maurer
Director of Sports Information
E-Mail: rmaurer@wittenberg.edu
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University men's and women's soccer teams put together outstanding, almost parallel, 2005 seasons, reaching the four-team tournament field in the extremely competitive North Coast Athletic Conference before falling in the semifinals against the nationally ranked No. 1 seeded team. Not surprisingly, the successes enjoyed during the season resulted in recognition from coaches on the Great Lakes Region selection committee. Read More...
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Another banner fall sports season has reaped rich rewards for 34 Wittenberg University athletes who were selected to All-North Coast Athletic Conference teams over the last two weeks, and a number of those individuals have also claimed regional and national awards. Read More...
Jamie McIntyre Named NCAC Defensive Player of the Year To Highlight Tigers All-Conference Selections
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio Wesleyan senior forward Sarah Wall (Columbus, OH/Upper Arlington) and Wittenberg junior defender Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, OH/Grandview) have been named Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year for the second consecutive year to highlight the 2005 All-North Coast Athletic Conference women's soccer selections. Read More ...
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Lisa Rusch
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The Tigers, who started the season 8-0, fell to 14-5 overall with the loss after posting a 5-3 mark in the NCAC regular season. Wittenberg now awaits the decision of the NCAA Division III Tournament selection committee, which will announce the brackets for the national competition on Sunday night. The Tigers, who have never reached the national tournament, are one of several regionally ranked teams around the country hoping for an at-large berth.
Before losing to Denison, the Tigers won back-to-back 2-0 decisions against Hiram and Wooster on Oct. 22 and 29 to gain entry into the four-team event. A loss in either game would have knocked the Tigers out of the NCAC Tournament.
Sophomore forward Lisa Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) is the Tigers’ leading scorer for the second straight year with six goals, five assists and 17 total points. The only other player to reach double figures in points for the defensive-minded Tigers was sophomore midfielder Amanda Farrell (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), who finished the regular season with five goals and 11 total points.
Rounding out the offense, sophomore forward Sydney Bates (Loveland, Ohio/Milford) scored three goals, and all of them were game-winners. Bates and Rusch shared team honors in game-winning goals. Bates was named NCAC Player of the Week for her game-winning score against Wooster.
The Tigers allowed just 10 goals all season as sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O’Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) spearheaded a defense that recorded a school-record 13 shutouts, bettering the mark of 11 set in 1995 and equalled a year ago.
Details about the Tigers’ season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.
Season CompleteBusy Homecoming and Reunion Weekend Ahead For Wittenberg Athletic Teams
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University is always a busy place during its annual Homecoming and Reunion Weekend, especially in and around the athletic complex. The 2005 Homecoming and Reunion Weekend may well be the topper. Read More...
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Sydney Bates
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Wittenberg is in this predicament thanks to losses the last three weeks to conference front-runners Kenyon, Denison and Ohio Wesleyan. The most recent loss came on Wednesday at OWU, as the defending conference champions claimed a 2-0 win.
The fact that it was an evenly played game with a shot count that favored the home team by just two is of little or no consequence. The Tigers, who aspire to reach the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in the program's 20-year history, will likely have to win the NCAC Tournament to secure a bid.
To do that, the road starts with two wins in the final two regular season games, with the game against Wooster looming as the biggest home game for the team in years. The Tigers faced a similar scenario a year ago, and they came through with a 2-0 win at Oberlin on the final Saturday of the regular season.
The Tigers' most recent win came last Saturday against Allegheny at Edwards-Maurer Field. Sophomore forward Sydney Bates (Loveland, Ohio/Milford) headed home a cross from junior defender Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) in the second half and the Tiger defense made it stand up, allowing the Gators just three shots in the entire game. Behind sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), the Tigers recorded their school record-tying 11th shutout of the season, equalling a mark set in 1995 and 2004.
Details about the Tigers' season can be found on the team's schedule/results page and season statistics page.
Next: 10/22 @ Hiram
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Suzanne Medwid
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It's a big game for the Tigers, who broke into the national top 25 for the first time in 10 years earlier this week. Wittenberg must win at least three of its final five games to assure itself a berth in the annual NCAC Tournament next month. Last year, Wittenberg lost in the tourney final at nationally ranked Ohio Wesleyan by a 1-0 score.
The defensive-minded Tigers feature just one player in double figures for scoring on the season as sophomore forward Lisa Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) checks in with 14 total points on team-bests of five goals and four assists. On the season, Wittenberg holds a 23-6 scoring advantage on its opponents and has recorded 10 shutouts, one short of the school record established in 1995 and equalled a year ago.
The defensive effort has been spearheaded by sophomore Lindsey Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), freshman Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), sophomore Amy Meige (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) and junior Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview), a quartet that has started every game in front of sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O'Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne). O'Rourke has a goals against average of 0.42 and has turned away 88 percent of the shots opponents have put on the Tigers' net.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 10/15 vs. Allegheny
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Meghan O'Rourke
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The wake-up call came on Sept. 24 in a 2-1 overtime loss at Westminster. Playing a quality opponent less than 24 hours after defeating Washington & Jefferson, 3-0, the Tigers had a couple of defensive breakdowns and they paid dearly for them. A school record seven-game shutout streak came to an end that night, as did the eight-game win streak, which was just three shy of the 1995 team’s mark of 11 in a row to open a season.
After rebounding with a 2-0 win over Wilmington on Tuesday, the Tigers were shutout for the first time this season by fourth-ranked Denison. In a rematch of a classic shootout thriller in the semifinals of last year’s NCAC Tournament - which was won by Wittenberg - the Big Red picked up an early goal and made it stand up to get the upper hand on the Tigers in what appears to be a wide open 2005 conference title chase.
The defensive-minded Tigers have yielded just four goals through 11 games in 2005, while they have scored 18. Several players have gotten in on the offensive act, led by sophomore forward Lisa Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), who has four goals, three assists and 11 total points. Sophomore forward Amanda Farrell (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland), junior forward Liz Volz (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) and senior forward Lindsay Zigler (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) all have three goals on the season to tie for second on the team. Volz, however, has suffered a season-ending injury.
Defensively, the Tigers have sparkled again, despite the fact that just one of the four backfield starters remains in place from last year’s team. Sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O’Rourke (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) is among the conference and national leaders with a goals against average of 0.36 and a saves percentage of .90.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 10/5 @ Earlham
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Jamie McIntyre
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The Tigers are winning in most impressive fashion, having outscored their first seven opponents by a whopping 10-1 margin in running up a perfect 7-0 record. The only goal allowed all season was in the first half of the opener at Illinois Wesleyan on Sept. 2. Since rallying for a 2-1 win in that game, the Tiger defense has been the closest thing to perfection there is in soccer, shutting out six straight opponent to break the school record of five set in 1995.
The 2005 Tigers are chasing that landmark team of a decade ago in a lot of ways. That team streaked out to an 11-0 start before finishing 15-3 overall and ranked No. 7 in the nation. The NCAA Division III Tournament was a much more selective affair back in those days, and the Tigers were snubbed in their hopes of obtaining an at-large selection after finishing third in the NCAC.
The Tiger defense is led again this year by junior back Jamie McIntyre (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview), who has been nothing short of sensational this year after earning NCAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2004. Along with fellow defensive starters sophomore Amy Meige (Columbus, Ohio/DeSales), sophomore Lindsey Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and freshman Suzanne Medwid (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), McIntyre allows very few scoring opportunities to Wittenberg’s foes. When they do take a shot, most find their way into the arms of sophomore goalkeeper Meghan O’Rourke ( Columbus, Ohio/ Worthington Kilbourne).
Offensively, the Tigers have one of the best in the business in sophomore forward Lisa Rusch (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), the team’s leading scorer in 2004 and so far in 2005 as well. The 2004 NCAC Newcomer of the Year lost one of her primary running mates recently, however, as junior forward Liz Volz ( Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton), second on the team in scoring, went down for the year with a knee injury.
All of the details about the Tigers, are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page. Season statistics can be found by clicking here.
Next: 9/23 @ Washington & Jefferson9/24 @ Westminster
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Ohio Wesleyan University is the preseason favorite in balloting by North Coast Athletic Conference women's soccer coaches conducted via email. The Bishops, NCAC regular season and tournament champions last season, earned four first-place votes from league coaches to compile 68 points, edging second-place Denison by one point. The Bishops topped the Big Red (67), who claimed the other four first-place votes cast. Wittenberg (53) and Wooster (47) followed in third and fourth place, respectively. Read More ...
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A trademark of all winning teams is resiliency, the ability to face down challenges and emerge from adversity with a positive energy and renewed sense of purpose. Reflecting on their experiences after a whirlwind trip to Europe earlier this month, Wittenberg University Women’s Soccer Head Coach Norm Riker and Assistant Coach Heather Lipp are certain their team has what it takes to put together another outstanding season in 2005. Read More...
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University women's soccer standout Meghan O'Rourke, class of 2008, didn't have much time for Mickey, Minnie and the other famed cartoon characters on her recent trip to Walt Disney World. She was too busy.O'Rourke attended the eighth annual NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference May 29-June 2 at the Coronado Springs Resort and Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. It is the fourth straight year that a Wittenberg student has attended the conference, although O'Rourke was the first female and first underclassman to represent the university at an event that draws more than 350 student-athletes each year from across the country. Read More...
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Wittenberg University women's soccer Head Coach Norm Riker isn't in the construction business, but he's clearly building something very impressive. He isn't a travel agent, either, but he plans to play one every few years, starting in August 2005 when he leads his team on a 10-day trip through Europe. Read More ...
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