(Recap courtesy of the Tiffin University Sports Information Department)

Tiffin 3, Ashland 2 [Box Score]

TIFFIN, Ohio - With the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference Tournament Championship on the line, it seems as if both Tiffin University and Ashland University stepped up their games. The Dragons and the Eagles combined for more goals in the first half (4) than the two teams combined for in both their previous matchups (3). However, unlike the last outing between the two teams when Ashland won 2-1 to one, the Dragons found a way to win.

GLIAC Offensive Player of the Year, Rhys Cannella, scored the only goal in the second half to give the Dragons the GLIAC Tournament Championship 3-2 over the Eagles. The title marks the Dragons second tournament championship in only two years as a member of the GLIAC.

The win will likely send the Dragons to the NCAA tournament. The final decision will be made Monday to decide which teams from the region get selected. With the win, however, the Dragons likely will vault ahead of Ashland in the regional rankings.

The Dragons had to battle back twice to tie the score. They fell behind in the 12th minute when AU’s Andrew Iden headed in a Max Nudelman pass. The Dragons would quickly respond though when Canella scored a goal after Nick Kutch headed a pass at the 13:47 mark. Max Hiltner would give the Eagles a 2-1 lead after rebounding a shot off the post and kicking it into the goal in the 23rd minute. Kutch would tie the game up at the 29:05 mark when he headed in Michael O’Neill’s corner kick.

The only goal scored in the second half would give the Dragons the victory. Tony Iyayi made a flick kick to Cannella who scored the goal at the 82:48 mark. The Dragons were able to hold on to the 3-2 advantage for the victory.

Coach Rudy Brownell was pleased once again with his team’s performance. “All year long, this group of guys, even in the preseason, they worked extremely hard, and they always find a way to win games. This was a total team effort today,” he said.

Even though the Dragons won the conference tournament last year, Coach Brownell finds this one sweeter. “This is even better this year because we got to beat Ashland. Ashland beat us twice last year, and this year they beat us once and tied us once. So it was great beating them for the championship when it counted most,” said Brownell.

Jeff Frisch played 90 minutes in goal for the Dragons and made five saves. AU held the advantage on shot attempts 13-10 and also had more corner kicks 9-2. The win improves TU to 15-4-1.