GRANVILLE -- Taylor Vaughn's goal in the 89th minute lifted the Wittenberg Tigers to a 3-2 victory over Denison in North Coast Athletic Conference play from Piper Stadium on Wednesday night.

Wittenberg carried a two-goal lead into the half after scores by Leah Soutar and Shannon Brueck in the first and 27th minutes, respectively. During the 10-minute intermission, the Big Red must have received an inspiring pep talk from Head Coach Gail Murphy as they opened the second half with a renewed aggression.

Freshman Phoebe Gilbert nearly cut the deficit in half with 36 minutes to play, but she could get a foot on the end line cross by senior Jacquie Graham. After a foul in DU's offensive third, junior Drew Wentzel sent ball into the box that was challenged by players from both squads. The 50-50 ball was eventually settled by junior captain Meg Wozniak who created some space and shot a rocket into the upper right 90 from 15 yards out. Wozniak's second goal of the year came at 59:54.

Senior captain Anne Denz came close to tying the match at 2-2, but a one-handed save by Tiger keeper Hannah Wilson preserved the lead momentarily. Roughly seven minutes after the Denz attempt, junior Grace Murray slipped a pass to a streaking Naomi Barker who found herself one-on-one with Wilson. The senior sent a shot past the charging keeper and into the lower left corner for her first score of the season. Barker's game-tying goal came at 77:12.

The score remained tied until Vaughn found the back of the net with 65 seconds on the clock. Soutar got the play started with cross that reached the far post. Morgan Jones pushed the ball back towards center of the six-yard box where Vaughn punched in it from point blank range.

Denison outshot Wittenberg 13-9 with both teams registering six shots on frame. The Big Red earned one more corner kick (3-2), while the Tigers committed twice as many fouls, 10-5. Denison goalie Jenny Herold made three saves, while Wilson finished with four stops.

Denison falls to 8-4-4 overall and 5-1-1 in the NCAC, while Wittenberg is now 11-3-2 on the season and 6-1 in conference matches. The Big Red closes out the regular season this Saturday (Oct. 29) when they host Oberlin. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.