The third installment of the Denison and Kenyon rivalry will take place on Saturday with more on the line than just bragging rights for the season series. The winner of Saturday's match will be crowned North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament champion and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAC tournament final will take place at McBride Field in Gambier, Ohio at 2 p.m.
Third-seeded Denison will make its third NCAC Championship appearance in the last four seasons following Wednesday's 2-0 victory at second-seeded and 19th-ranked DePauw. Junior Britta Marden scored an unassisted goal in the 10th minute to give the Big Red an early lead. The DU defense withstood an offensive barrage from the Tigers over the course of 60 minutes before Molly Chapman converted a penalty stroke with two seconds to play to secure the victory. During that stretch between Big Red goals, the backline blocked seven shots, while goalie Audrey Miller-Foreman made three saves.
Denison has been looking forward to another meeting with the top-seeded Ladies ever since suffering a 1-0 loss in Granville on Oct. 25. With the season series all tied up at 1-1, both schools want to show their regular season win wasn't a fluke. On Sept. 27, Denison went into Gambier and handed Kenyon a 3-1 loss behind two goals from Chloe Dikeou and another by sophomore Abby Martone. KC returned the favor a month later when they knocked off the Big Red at Piper Stadium. Saturday's clash will be the 83rd meeting between the two schools and just the second in the conference tournament. In last year's semifinal, the Ladies edged Denison 1-0 to advance to their fifth NCAC Tournament final. DU leads the all-time series with a 59-20-3 record.
The Big Red captured its first tournament championship in 2011 following a 2-0 victory over DePauw in Granville. In 2012, the Tigers defeated the Big Red by that same score in Greencastle, Ind. to win the NCAC Tournament. Winners of five of their last six, Denison will take a 13-6 record into the rubber match with Kenyon. Chapman leads the Big Red with 11 goals and 25 points, while Martone and Elsie Humes each have eight. Martone is also second on the team with 20 points, while Dikeou's 19 points have come via seven goals and five assists. Marden leads the team with six assists to go along with five goals. The defensive unit of Chapman, Alex Berman, Allie Bacon, Kirsten Audette and Jane Higley helped Denison pick up its sixth shutout of the season on Wednesday.
Kenyon (18-2) will be making its sixth appearance in the NCAC Tournament final on Saturday, serving as the host site for the first time in program history. The Ladies earned a berth in the championship match with a 2-0 victory over fourth-seeded Wittenberg on Wednesday. Shannon Hart provided both goals in KC's victory. Maddie Breschi and Rachel Hall co-lead the team with 13 goals each, while Hart checks in with 11. Hall and Julie Freedman both have a team-best eight assists.
