Ohio Wesleyan 17, Allegheny 16

March 28, 2009

Senior attacker Tara Porter (North Quincy, Mass./Berkshire School), senior midfielder Hannah Mudge (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School), and freshman defender Kat Enders (Lake Oswego, Ore./St. Mary's Academy) scored goals as Ohio Wesleyan broke a 14-14 tie and held on to defeat Allegheny in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener for both teams on Saturday at Selby Field.

Ohio Wesleyan trailed, 8-3, in the closing minutes of the first half when Mudge scored a pair of goals just 30 seconds apart to kick off a 6-0 Bishop run. Junior midfielder Jessica Copeland (Ligonier, Pa./Foxcroft (Va.)) converted a free-position shot to pull the Bishops within 8-6 at halftime, then Porter scored an unassisted goal off the opening draw of the second half to make it an 8-7 game.

Sophomore midfielder Marlowe Mavian (Columbus/Wellington) followed with a goal just 32 seconds later to tie the game at 8-8, and Mudge followed with a score to give the Bishops a 9-8 lead.

The Gators answered with a 3-0 run, getting a pair of goals from Abby Silvester and a connection from Jensen Paterson to Meg Grossman for an 11-9 Allegheny lead, but Copeland and Mavian responded with goals for Ohio Wesleyan to even the game at 11-11 with 17:06 left in regulation time.

The teams then traded goals thrice, leaving the contest deadlocked at 14-14 with 9:18 to play.

Porter broke the tie with 6:23 to go, fielding a pass from Copeland and finding the back of the Gator net for a 15-14 Bishop lead.

Mudge followed with an unassisted goal at the 3:45 mark, and Enders made a long run and scored what proved to be the game-winner with 2:11 remaining.

Allegheny rallied down the stretch, with Paterson converting a free-position shot with 1:15 to go to bring the Gators within 17-15. Paterson found Grossman again for a score to make it 17-16 with :03 to play, but the clock ran out before possession was established on the ensuing draw.

Junior defender Lauren Rogers (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) found Mudge in front to even the game at 1-1 in the early going, but Allegheny took off on a 6-1 run that included a pair of goals by Christina Zanic and free-position scores by Kiah Voyer-Colbath and Grossman.

Copeland ended that Allegheny run with an unassisted goal with 9:17 left in the first half, but Voyer-Colbath answered with a score less than a minute later to restore the Gators' 5-goal margin at 8-3.

Mudge led the Bishops with 6 goals and an assist, while Rogers and Copeland each contributed 3 goals and an assist.

Freshman Liz Searfos (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) went the distance in the Ohio Wesleyan goal, finishing with 13 saves.

Grossman paced the Gators with 5 goals and an assist, while Silvester had 3 goals and an assist, and Zanic scored 3 goals.

Rachael Coons recorded 11 saves for Allegheny.

Box Score