Coming off a blowout win over Earlham on Wednesday, DePauw (8-3, 7-1 NCAC) had a lot of momentum heading into Saturday’s game against conference opponent Wittenberg (4-8, 4-4 NCAC).
The Tigers took advantage of early opportunities in this game.
First-year midfielder and forward Rose Revolinski scored in the sixth minute and sophomore forward Reilly Bruce quickly followed up with a goal of her own in the eighth minute. The fast start for the Tigers was encouraging, but a lack of defensive intensity following those two goals gave Wittenberg the opportunity to climb their way back into it.
As a consequence, Wittenberg put away goals in both the 13th and 34th minutes, tying the game.
Following the first half collapse, the Tigers were in desperate need of someone to step up, as sophomore forward Paige Berliner had stressed that this would not be an easy win.
“We were going to have to push ourselves in the second half to come out on top,” said Berliner.
This philosophy played in DePauw’s favor as Berliner was able to reclaim the lead for the Tigers with a goal just two minutes into the second half. This goal had seemingly sealed the victory for the Tigers until Wittenberg was able to knot it up in the 63rd minute with a goal of their own. Unable to shake Wittenberg’s efforts in regulation, the Tigers were forced into overtime.
In the same way that she stole the momentum from Wittenberg early in the second half, Berliner was able to do again in overtime. Approaching the 89th minute of play, Berliner was able to put another one away and seal a 4-3 victory for the Tigers.
Sophomore goalie Sarah Guendert had seven saves in the win.
This win marks the third straight for the Tigers.
The team will look to continue their winning streak next Saturday in Ohio, where they will be taking on Wooster, followed by another away game against Oberlin on Sunday.
Saturday’s game is set to be played at 3:00 p.m., while Sunday’s game has an earlier start time at 1:00 p.m.
