SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Jake Pippen broke a 7-7 deadlock with 3:05 remaining and Wabash made the one-goal margin stand the rest of the way, earning an 8-7 North Coast Athletic Conference road victory Tuesday night at Wittenberg to end a six-game losing streak.

The Little Giants (3-10, 1-4 NCAC) trailed multiple times before delivering their best stretch in the third quarter, then survived a late Wittenberg (1-12, 0-6 NCAC) push behind 16 saves from goalkeeper Colin Krekeler.

Wabash struck first on a man-up chance when Zach McMichael scored at the 10:44 mark of the opening quarter for a 1-0 lead. Wittenberg answered with the final two goals of the period, both by Tripp Salowich, including the go-ahead score with eight seconds left in the first to give the Tigers a 2-1 advantage.

The Tigers extended the margin to 3-1 early in the second quarter on Mikey Clark's unassisted goal at 9:21, but Wabash answered in a flash. Pippen converted off an assist from Cooper Navarro at 7:45, then Evan Bair finished a feed from Sam Santiago to tie the score at 3-3.
Wittenberg regained control early in the third period when Salowich scored again for a 4-3 edge, and Clark pushed the Tigers back in front 5-4 at the 10:06 mark after Navarro had briefly tied the contest.

That set up Wabash's decisive 3-0 surge midway through the quarter. Navarro tied the match at 5-5 with 4:42 to play in the third, Keegan Hatchell scored 46 seconds later to put the Little Giants ahead, and Bair finished the run off a Pippen assist at 3:02 for a 7-5 lead.

Wittenberg trimmed the deficit to 7-6 on Clay Habben's goal with four seconds left in the third, then drew even at 7-7 on Andrew Owen's score with 9:26 left in regulation.

After several key stops by Krekeler, Wabash found the winner when Bair fed Pippen for the go-ahead goal with 3:05 to play. The Little Giants finally came away with the ensuing faceoff — their only faceoff win of the night — and then relied on Krekeler's late saves plus a successful final clear to secure the win.

Pippen, Bair, and Navarro each finished with three points to lead the Wabash offense. Pippen scored twice with an assist, Bair added two goals and one assist, and Navarro matched that line with two goals and one assist. McMichael and Hatchell added the other Little Giant goals.

Krekeler's 16-save effort proved pivotal as Wittenberg outshot Wabash 44-36 and held commanding advantages in ground balls (39-22) and faceoffs (16-1). The Little Giants offset those numbers by forcing 24 Wittenberg turnovers, converting their lone extra-man goal, and going 20-of-24 on clears compared to 16-of-19 for the Tigers.

Jake Pippen added three ground balls, Bryce Poling caused two turnovers, and Monty Atkins collected three ground balls with several key caused turnovers during the second-half comeback. Eli Backus also helped turn momentum with four caused turnovers for the Wabash defense.
 
Wabash returns home Saturday to face the College of Wooster at 1 p.m., when the Little Giants will honor their senior class prior to the opening faceoff.