Box Score For the first time since the inception of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in 2001, the Denison Big Red has taken home the hardware following a 2-0 victory over DePauw University from Piper Stadium in Granville.
With the victory, No. 20 Denison will take its 18-1 record into the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday (Nov. 9). Denison's opponent and the location of Wednesday's first round match will be announced by the NCAA by Monday (Nov. 7) at noon.
In a rematch from last Saturday's regular season finale which saw DU score the match's lone goal with just two minutes to play, DU jumped out in front in the 13th minute of today's championship game.
After being awarded their second penalty corner of the contest, Denison's Taylor Bacon played the ball to first-year Molly Chapman who sent a clean pass to classmate Tara Pesman who sent a laser from just inside the shooting circle. Pesman's shot knifed through the DePauw defense, past Tiger goalie Maggie Steele for the first goal of the game.
Later in the first half the Tigers nearly tied the score when Courtney Wood sent a strong shot attempt that just barely went wide and to the left of an open Denison cage. In the second half Denison would control the pace and tempo, holding the Tigers to just two shots over the final 35 minutes.
DU got an important insurance goal in the 64th minute when Chapman played the ball to Catie Merrick from the wing. Merrick was stationed in front of the goal and finished things off for her 14th goal of the season. DePauw would not attempt a shot over the final six minutes of play.
The Tigers were feisty in the first half, outshooting the Big Red 12-3. However, once Denison took the lead its defense tightened, and with a little help from a raucous Denison student section, DU road the positive momentum all the way to their first conference tournament title.
Denison goalie Brittany Benson posted seven saves while earning her fifth consecutive shutout and her 11th this season. Benson has been a stalwart in goal all season and her .887 save percentage is second best in Division III.
For DePauw, Steele posted five saves and Paige Henry led the offense with four shot attempts. Denison edged the Tigers 8-7 in penalty corner attempts. DePauw led the nation in penalty corners at 14.4 per contest entering today's match.
Denison started the season with a nine-game winning streak and after a midseason overtime setback to DePauw, the Big Red have won nine straight once again. At 18-1, Denison has tied the school record for single-season victories set in 1984. This will be Denison's 11th NCAA Division III Tournament appearance and the second career appearance for head coach P.J. Soteriades. She took the Big Red to the second round in her first season as the head coach in 2000.
In the postgame ceremonies, Pesman was named the tournament's most valuable player and Karla Dixon, Benson and Katie McMahon were named to the All-Tournament team.
Keep checking www.denisonbigred.com for an update of Denison's NCAA Tournament draw.
