Ohio Wesleyan 2, Wittenberg 2

Nov. 8, 2008

Sophomore midfielder Ryan Harmanis (Hilliard/Davidson) set up sophomore forward Tyler Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington) on the game-tying goal with less than 8 minutes left in regulation time, but 20 minutes of overtime could not determine a winner and ninth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg played to a tie in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday at Roy Rike Field.

Ohio Wesleyan outscored Wittenberg, 4-3, on penalty kicks to claim the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, which begins next week. The NCAA Division III tournament bracket will be announced on Monday.

Ohio Wesleyan enjoyed the edge in play for most of the first half, but the Bishops were not able to translate that into a goal. Instead, it was the Tigers who took the lead when Matt Borland won the ball and squeezed off a 22-yard shot. Bishop keeper Richard Ott (Norwalk) got to the shot but could not control it, and the ball continued on into the Ohio Wesleyan goal in the 34th minute.

The Bishops turned up the pressure during the second half but were kept off the scoreboard by the Tiger defense. Harmanis broke loose for a shot in the 54th minute only to see it miss the far post by less than the width of the ball. One minute later, Wall sent a through ball to sophomore back Brian Greene (Beavercreek), who broke in alone on Wittenberg keeper Michael Lambeck, but Lambeck charged out to make the save. Shortly thereafter, Harmanis went up for a header from the 6-yard line, but Lambeck made a good play to snare the ball and protect the lead.

Ohio Wesleyan got the equalizer in the 65th minute. The Bishops were awarded a free kick about 25 yards away from the Wittenberg goal. Senior back T.J. Trigg (Westerville/North) ripped a shot that Lambeck reached, but the ball squirted through his arms and inside the left post to tie the game at 1-1 with 25:04 left in regulation time.

The Tigers struck back quickly. Ohio Wesleyan lost the ball in the midfield, and Ryan Ruef pounced on the turnover and was off on a breakaway. His shot over Ott gave Wittenberg a 2-1 edge with 22:59 remaining in regulation time.

Ohio Wesleyan continued the pressure in the offensive end, with Trigg sending a 35-yard drive off a free kick which Lambeck saved in the 77th minute.

In the 83rd minute, Harmanis sent a through ball to Wall, who finished the chance in front of the Tiger goal to even the game at 2-2 with 7:24 to play.

The Bishops nearly won the game in regulation as Greene's blast from inside the penalty area hit the left post. The rebound came out to junior midfielder Blake Pifer (Fleming/Ada), who had an open look from the right side but sent his follow shot over the crossbar in the 87th minute.

Wittenberg had the first good scoring chance of the first overtime period, but Ott stopped Brian Glenn's shot in the 93rd minute. In the last minute of the period, junior midfielder Jordan Halloran (Springfield/Catholic Central) had an open look from the top of the penalty area, but his shot was wide.

Freshman forward Matt Bonfini (Dublin/Coffman) had a couple of chances to end the game in the second overtime, but his shot off a restart in the 106th minute was wide right. In the final minute of overtime, Bonfini took a through ball from Halloran, but Lambeck made the save from close range, and the game ended in a 2-2 stalemate, leaving it to penalty kicks to determine the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Wittenberg took the early momentum in the shootout when Lambeck stopped Wall's kick, and the Tigers took a 1-0 lead when Borland converted his try.

Halloran and Wittenberg's Michael Condon traded successful kicks, as did Trigg and Wittenberg's Matt Fleissner, giving the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

Harmanis stepped up and converted his kick to tie the session at 3-3, and matters stayed that way when Wittenberg's Justin Jenkins sent his try over the crossbar.

Junior midfielder Will Murawski (Alpharetta, Ga./Westerville North) followed with a successful kick to give the Bishops a 4-3 lead, and the shootout ended when Ruef's kick hit the crossbar.

The tournament title is Ohio Wesleyan's seventh in the 9 seasons that the NCAC tournament has been contested. This was only the second time that the NCAC tournament championship game has gone to penalty kicks.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Wittenberg, 31-18. Ott finished with 5 saves for the Bishops, while Lambeck had 8 saves for the Tigers.

Box Score