Stephanie Standera

Stephanie Standera cracked a penalty corner through the defense with :14 left in regulation, lifting The College of Wooster to a third North Coast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Tournament championship in a row as the Fighting Scots edged Wittenberg University 4-3 during a back-and-forth affair between the two rivals Saturday at Springfield, Ohio.

With the win, Wooster (16-5) earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III Championships, which begins play on Wednesday, Nov. 10, while Wittenberg (15-4), which was regionally-ranked entering this week, will have to wait to see if it's worthy of an at-large bid.

The teams split their regular season series, with each winning on the other's home field, and when Standera's last-second blast at the top of the circle, following a free hit from Eileen Barrer, made it through to the Tigers' cage, that theme continued as the Scots celebrated on Edwards-Maurer Field.

During the opening 35 minutes, Wittenberg had the better offensive chances overall and struck twice for a 2-1 halftime lead. Wooster's first goal of the day came from Standera, as she slapped in a loose ball in front of the cage to tie it at one, but the Tigers answered quickly when Elizabeth Dwyer netted one just 1:33 later.

The Scots would control much of the second-half action and evened the score shortly after it started when Barrer finished off a strong run by Amanda Artman, marking Barrer's 12th goal this fall. Approximately 14 minutes later, Wooster would takes its initial lead via Clare Nelson-Johnson's second goal of the tournament, but similar to the first half, Wittenberg had a quick response in tying it just 1:21 later on a Tori Casanta tally.

With the score 3-3, both teams tried desperately to come up with the game-winner over the final 10 minutes. First, the Tigers had a series of corners, but they were unable to get a shot on goal during that sequence. Then, with under 2:00 on the clock, Barrer got free and had a pair of point-blank shots, only to be stopped each time by Wittenberg goalie Jenny Schaafsma.

It looked like the game was headed to overtime when Wooster earned one last penalty corner, and Standera, the 2009 NCAC Tournament MVP, came through in the clutch for her ninth goal of the year.

This season's NCAC Tournament MVP was Scot freshman back Josie Rey, and joining her on the all-tournament team were Artman, senior back Nina Dine, and Standera.

Wooster, which will be making its ninth NCAA appearance overall, will learn of its first-round opponent and the site for that match-up, when the NCAA reveals the brackets on-line Monday at 9 a.m. Log-on to www.ncaa.com to view the selection show.