Junior Keara Kilbane broke a scoreless tie in the 71st minute to power the Big Red women's soccer team to a 1-0 North Coast Athletic Conference victory at Hiram on Saturday afternoon at Henry Field in Hiram, Ohio.

Denison spent the majority of the match in its offensive third, generating multiple scoring opportunities. Midway through the first period, Kilbane had a shot blocked that end up in the box. Junior captain Andrea Witte followed with an attempt that sailed over the goal. In the 43rd minute, Witte had a header go over the cross bar from right of the box.  DU finished the first half with a 16-1 advantage in shots.

Off a corner kick in the 53rd minute, sophomore Jacquie Graham settled a loose ball in the box and unloaded a shot from eight yards out that was turned aside by Hiram goalie Kailie Reed.  The Big Red logged seven more unsuccessful attempts before sneaking one past Reed to cap off a three-shot flurry.

Freshman Meg Wozniak had the first attempt at 70:07 that was stopped by Reed. Four seconds later, sophomore captain Anne Denz uncorked a shot that struck the crossbar. The ball by Denz pulled Reed out of the goal, which opened the door for Kilbane to score into the wide open net at 70:15. The goal was Kilbane's third of the season and the first game winner of her collegiate career. Witte collected her conference-leading fifth assist on the goal.

Over the final 19+ minutes, Hiram managed just one shot, an attempt by Allie Glatt that sailed high. Denison held a 33-7 advantage in shots. The Big Red also attempted 10 of the game's 12 corner kicks and committed one more foul than Hiram (12-11). The aggressive DU offense was whistled for offsides three times compared to just one for the Terriers.

Witte finished with a game-high seven shots, while Wozniak and Jessica Skelly had six and five attempts, respectively.  Graham and Denz each logged four shots, while the goal scorer Kilbane had three. Freshman goalie Jenny Herold picked up her third shutout of the season after making two stops in 90 minutes.

Glatt and Katelyn Mauch each registered two shots for Hiram. Reed made 15 saves and allowed one goal in 90 minutes.

DU improves to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in the NCAC, while the Terriers fall to 5-6-1 and 0-1-1 in the league. Denison returns to action next Saturday (Oct. 11) when they host Wittenberg at 7 p.m.