DELAWARE, Ohio — Beatrice Douglas-Arnold headed in the winner late on Saturday afternoon as the Ohio Wesleyan University women’s soccer team beat Wittenberg at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex in its final regular-season game, extending the Battling Bishops’ winning streak to three matches.
The game was scoreless for a little more than 80 minutes in Delaware. Ohio Wesleyan tallied three shots on target in the first half while Wittenberg put five on target, but neither side could break through and the teams went to halftime tied 0-0, according to Ohio Wesleyan athletics.
Douglas-Arnold finally broke the deadlock with a game-winning header in the closing minutes. The goal rewarded a second half in which the Bishops kept pressing a Wittenberg side that arrived at 4-10-1 overall and 1-5-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.
Ohio Wesleyan improved to 6-7-4 overall and 3-3-0 in the NCAC with the result. Closing the regular season with three straight wins gives the Bishops momentum at the right time of year, after a schedule that left them with four draws alongside their six victories.
For Wittenberg, the loss closed a difficult conference run. The Tigers created the better of the first-half chances on shots on target, but they could not convert any of them and were ultimately undone by a single late header.
The win matters beyond the final scoreline for a Delaware program that plays its home games in the heart of the campus community. A winning finish at home sends the Bishops into the postseason portion of the fall with confidence in a defense that kept a clean sheet for more than 80 minutes and then held on after taking the lead.
Ohio Wesleyan will now turn its attention to what comes next after the regular-season finale. Wittenberg will look to regroup after finishing its trip to Delaware without a goal despite a productive first half in front of goal.