Men’s Soccer
DePauw at Anderson University; Tigers win 4-2
Recap:
Apparently all that could slow down DePauw’s men’s soccer team this weekend at the Raven/Quaker Classic at Anderson University was the weather. Unfortunately for the Tigers, however, mother nature proved to be a worthy adversary, as she cost DePauw a chance for a weekend sweep.
After leading Earlham College 2-0 at halftime on Friday evening, weather forced the game to be postponed. The Tigers returned on the following day and had to deal with another lightning delay but eventually salvaged a 4-2 win over Anderson in the weekend’s finale.
“This group has the unique ability to always be loose and yet focused,” head coach Brad Hauter said. “The effort was fantastic and the guys looked incredibly dynamic going forward,”
The Tigers showed that early on in Saturday’s win, as they struck for three goals in the first half against Anderson. Junior Julian Gonzalez, senior Adrian Ables and junior EJ Moore all scored for the Tigers within 13 minutes of each other.
DePauw almost let things slip away, however, as Anderson scored two goals late in the first half to cut the DePauw deficit to one at the break.
Senior Alieu Musa gave the Tigers an insurance marker late in the game that pushed the lead back up to two.
“I feel like we are clicking very well as a team, our team chemistry is incredibly high, and there have been moments where we have moved the ball throughout the field extremely effectively,” Pezzuto said.
Standout Players:
- Junior forward Julian Gonzalez (goal, unassisted; against Anderson)
- Senior midfielder Adrian Ables (goal, unassisted; 1st half, 17:48 against Anderson)
- Junior mifielder EJ Moore (goal, assist from Zach Hoffman; 1st half, 24:06 against Anderson)
- Senior midfielder Alieu Musa (goal, unassisted; 2nd half, 85:18 against Anderson)
Next Game:
Wed. Sept. 9, 7:00 p.m. vs. Franklin
The Tigers return to Reavis Stadium to take on the Grizzlies for their season opener. Last season, Franklin shut out DePauw 1-0 in a game where Grizzlies junior goalie Cody Chapman recorded seven saves. The Tigers will hope their momentum carries over into Wednesday, as Franklin is 0-2 on the season.
Women’s Soccer
DePauw vs. Kalamazoo at Illinois Wesleyan; Bloomington (Fri) and vs. Calvin at Illinois Wesleyan; Bloomington (Sat); Tigers win 4-1 vs. Kalamazoo, Lose 0-3 vs. Calvin
Recap:
This past weekend’s results were a mixed bag for the Tigers. After the offense came alive to help DePauw notch their first win of the season Friday night, the Tigers were shut out the next day, salvaging only five shots on goal compared to Calvin’s ten.
Nevertheless, the team had a lot to take away from both games.
“We were in the offensive third a lot more [against Kalamazoo] and were connecting passes extremely well,” said junior forward Elizabeth Seewer. “Even though we suffered the loss [against Calvin], we gained confidence, knowing that our potential grew as a whole.”
Senior forward Stephanie Martin agreed.
“We did what we were supposed to and worked hard,” said Martin. “Those are the games we need: hard fought battles that challenge us to be the team we can be.”
Like the men’s team, the women faced difficult weather conditions. On Friday, the game underwent an hour of lightning deals. And like the men’s team, DePauw was able to come right back from the break and score their third goal of the first half, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead.
Individual highlights included Martin’s hat trick against Kalamazoo as well as junior goalie Riley Riordan’s solid performance in both games despite the loss Saturday. Both Seewer and Megann Lear had two assists in Friday’s victory.
Standout Players
- Senior Forward Stephanie Martin (3 goals: Assist from Megann Lear; 1st half, 14:02 against Kalamazoo, Assist from Elizabeth Seewer; 1st half, 32:34 against Kalamazoo, Assist from Megann Lear; 1st half, 38:39 against Kalamazoo)
- Alyson Marzonie (Goal, Assist from Elizabeth Seewer; 2nd half, 64:16 against Kalamazoo)
- Junior goalie Riley Riordan (5 saves against Kalamazoo, 7 saves against Calvin)
Next Game:
Wed. Sep. 9 7:00 p.m. at Franklin
Despite being on the road, DePauw will have a favorable matchup against Franklin, as the Tigers have shut out the Grizzlies for the past two seasons (2-0 in 2013, 1-0 in 2014).
Men’s Golf
DePauw at Transylvania Intercollegiate, University Club of Kentucky; Lexington, Ky.; Tigers place seven out of 16 teams.
Recap:
While the team faded in the second day of the tournament after finishing fourth the first day, the Tigers opened the season strong, placing ahead of conference rivals Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan.
“It may have been the best performance our team has had since I have been at DePauw,” said senior Drake Dunaway. “We were only four strokes away from getting fourth in a field that had five teams that went to Nationals last season.”
It was a significant improvement over last season’s performance in Kentucky, where the Tigers finished the first day in seventh place, only to slip to tenth at the end of the tournament.
Over the span of three rounds, the Tigers combined for an overall score of 886 (295, 293, 298).
Head coach Vince Lazar was especially impressed with the amount of depth the team showed on the course.
“Our performance has put us in the early season conversation for an NCAA tourney at-large bid,” said Lazar. “[What’s] different than last year is we have multiple players shooting under par on any course, any day.”
Another promising storyline from this weekend for the program was the emergence of freshmen Michael Wittenberg and Sam Karcher, who finished second and fourth for the team respectively.
Standout Players:
- Senior Drake Dunaway (12/89 players; 69 (1st rd.); 76 (2nd rd.) 73 (3rd rd.))
- Freshman Michael Wittenberg (28/89 players; 74 (1st rd.); 78 (2nd rd.); 72 (3rd rd.))
- Sophomore Tim Graham (34/89 players; 73 (1st rd.); 74 (2nd rd.); 79 (3rd rd.))
Next Match:
Sun Sept. 20 / Mon. Sept. 21 at Rhodes Collegiate Classic, Tunica National; Tunica, Miss.
The Tigers are looking to carry their momentum into Sunday to improve in yet another tournament. Last season, DePauw finished the first day of the tournament in fifth, only to slip to tenth during the second day.
Women’s Golf
DePauw at Olivet College Labor Day Tee-Off Tournament; The Medalist GC; Marshall, Mich.; Tigers place two out of seven teams.
Recap:
The Tigers had a strong first tournament of the season, shooting a 646 over the two rounds and finishing only behind the University of Washington.
The performance was especially impressive given the impact of five new freshmen, three of whom finished in the top 15 individual places. Head coach Vince Lazar is optimistic about how the young group will help the program down the road this season.
“Although scores don’t always linearly improve each week, if the [team] improves their focus and gain confidence each week, their ceiling is unlimited,” said Lazar of the Tigers’ efforts.
New assistant coach Greg Jones led the women’s team during the tournament.
Standout Players:
- Freshman Larisa Luloff (4/43 players; 81 (1st Rd); 78 (2nd Rd))
- Freshman Rachele Miller (6/43 players; 83 (1st Rd); 78 (2nd Rd))
- Freshman Danielle Smith (9/43 players; 82 (1st Rd); 81 (2nd Rd))
- Junior Sheinnera Gerongay (10/43 players; 83 (1st Rd); 81 (2nd Rd))
Next Match:
Sun. Sep. 13 / Mon. Sep. 14 at The O’Brien National Invitational, Knollwood Country Club; South Bend, Indiana
After placing seven out of 10 teams the first round of the tournament last season, the Tigers came back to finish strong, finishing the second day in fifth place. The Tigers will again look to the freshmen for another strong performance.
Women’s Volleyball
Friday at Ohio Northern: Tigers Lose 0-3; Saturday vs. Alma at Bluffton University; Bluffton, Ohio: Tigers win 3-2; Saturday at Bluffton: Tigers win 3-2.
Recap:
DePauw’s weekend looked bleak Friday night—they had just been blanked by Ohio Northern 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-20) and had to travel in the morning to Bluffton to compete twice more.
In the Friday night game, the Tiger’s hit .079 for the match, while Ohio Northern hit .221.
“Our team plays best when we’re focused, but also loose and having fun together. We were missing that element to a certain extent against ONU,” said sophomore Haley Bitzer. “Our main challenge is getting out of our own heads and just having fun.”
The bleak attitude didn’t continue Saturday, however, as the Tigers beat both home team Bluffton and Alma 3-2.
“The two games were down to the wire going into the full five sets,” said Bitzer, “but our team has a great mentality that allows us to brush off any bad set and move on to the next like it’s a whole new game.”
In the first match against Alma, the Tigers found themselves down two games to zero before they came back and won the next three matches. A match-ending kill from junior middle hitter Elisabeth Wilson decided the game as a whole.
“This weekend provided our team the opportunity to play against really great competition and see what things we still need to work on,” said Wilson. “The weekend showed us how important our serve was—we won the games we served well in and lost the games in which we didn’t.”
Standout Players:
- Senior outside hitter Lauren Falotico (9 kills vs. Ohio Northern, 18 kills vs. Alma, 21 kills vs. Bluffton)
- Senior setter Faith Rolwes (24 assists vs. Ohio Northern, 45 assists vs. Alma, 48 assists vs. Bluffton)
- Senior defensive specialist Keely McGrath (15 digs vs. Ohio Northern, 25 digs vs. Alma, 28 digs vs. Bluffton)
Next Match:
Friday, Sep. 11, 4:00 p.m. at Washington (MO); Baden Invite
The Tigers return to the Baden Invite in St. Louis, Missouri, a tournament in which the team hasn’t competed in recent years. However, they will face a worthy opponent in host Washington during their first match of the tournament, as the program shut out the Tigers three years ago, 3-0.
Women’s Tennis
DePauw Invitational; Six Tigers Competed in Final Flights (rounds)
While the team competed in both singles and doubles, the tennis program looks to focus on individual performances during the fall season.
The home invitational was DePauw’s first match of the season in which a combination of six Tigers (both singles and doubles) competed in the final flights (rounds) of their respective matches.
“I think we all competed extremely well and really gave it our all,” said sophomore Alyssa Seneviratne. “The biggest positive from this weekend… is that we all improved as the tournament progressed and learned from our previous match.”
Besides DePauw, a mix of Division II, Division III and intercollegiate teams competed in the tournament, which included Hanover, Grand Valley State and Indianapolis.
Standout Players:
- Junior Maddie Lee (finished 2nd in #1 singles flight)
- Freshman Ali Bush (finished 2nd in #2 singles flight)
- Sophomore Libby Grant and Freshman SarahWilder (finished 2nd in #2 doubles flight)
Next Match:
Sat. Sep. 19 / Sun. Sep. 20: Indiana Inter-Divisional Invitational- Time TBA
The Tigers will host this tournament as well as they will be taking on both Butler and Indianaoplis.
Women’s Field Hockey
DePauw at Mary Washington (Fri.): Tigers lose 1-2 in overtime; DePauw vs. St. Mary’s (Md.) at Fredericksburg, Va: Tigers win 4-3 in double overtime
Recap:
Saturday’s matchup against Mary Washington had a stagnant first half as neither team managed a goal. .
A strong second half was in order, as the Tigers delivered early. Sophomore Paige Berliner broke the ice mid-second half with a goal to put the Tigers up 1-0, but the lead did not last. Mary Washington tied it up late in the game and tallied another goal in overtime to edge the Tigers 2-1.
In Sunday’s matchup against St. Mary’s, Reilly Bruce managed the lone goal for the Tigers as they trailed 2-1 heading into the second half. The Tigers opened up the second half in dominant fashion, seeing goals from Addie Ball and Maddy Burds within three minutes of each other.
A very late goal by St. Mary’s forced the Tigers into their second consecutive overtime game, where they prevailed with a goal from Tori Wittemann in the 90 minute for a 4-3 victory.
It was an exciting way for the Tigers to cap off the weekend, as they came up just short in a disappointing overtime against Mary Washington. Head coach Erika Dombkowski was especially pleased with Tigers performance this weekend.
“I’m really happy we came out to play national caliber teams and put both into overtime so early in the season,” said Dombkowski.
Standout Players:
- Sophomore forward Paige Berliner (goal, unassisted; 2nd half, 53:22 against Mary Washington)
- Sophomore forward Tori Wittemann (game-winning goal, assist from Maddy Burds; 2nd overtime, 90:23 against St. Mary’s)
- Goalie Sarah Guendert (17 saves against Mary Washington, 10 saves against St. Mary’s)
Next Match:
Fri. Sept. 11, 5:30 p.m. vs. Wittenberg
After a strong finish to the weekend, the Tigers return home to face Wittenberg, a program they’ve gone undefeated against since 2010.