Box Score On Wednesday in Gambier, the Denison Big Red came out of the gates red-hot, scoring the first eight goals of the contest en route to a 17-6 win over Kenyon College. With the win, Denison retains the Thomsen-Heiser Trophy which is awarded to the winner of the annual clash between the two conference rivals.
Denison sophomore midfielder Jamie McCahan would get the offense going by scoring the first three goals of the game. A Nick Caravana goal with 6:10 left in the first would put DU up 4-0 and after a penalty flag on Kenyon's Fritz Waine gave the Big Red its third man-up situation of the quarter, Nick Bortolani cashed in with his seventh goal of the season, sending his squad into the second quarter with a 5-0 lead.
Faceoff specialist Eric Baumgardner would start off the quarter with a win and 30 seconds later, Blair Farinholt would connect with James Meager for his first goal of the afternoon. Over the next 90 seconds Liam Rooney would score on an assist from Teddy Sawyer and Will Donohue converted an EMO after taking a pass from Farinholt.
The remainder of the first half would see Meager and Fairnholt offset a pair of Kenyon goals, allowing Denison to take a 10-2 lead into the second half.
In the third quarter, DU remained aggressive, outshooting the Lords 14-10 while tacking four more goals on the scoreboard. Tallies would come from Rooney (twice), Meager and Baumgardner, via a faceoff win. The junior was 14-of-20 on draws and led the way with 10 ground balls and one goal on two shots.
Rooney paced the team with four goals and one assist off five shot attempts. McCahan and Meager each scored three times while Farinholt chipped in one goal and three assists.
Clark Bullington posted eight saves in 49 minutes of action between the pipes. He was relieved by Chris Thomas who made the most of his 11 minutes of playing time. Thomas recorded seven saves while allowing just one goal. Defensively, first-year Thomas Farrell caused two turnovers and had three ground balls.
The Big Red outshot the Lords 46-38 and controlled the ground ball game, 44-24.
The win marked the 10th straight victory over Kenyon. Denison's last loss to the Lords came in the 2006 season opener. DU holds a 68-16 advantage over Kenyon in the all-time series which dates back to 1953. This is the fourth year the two schools have played for the travelling Thomsen-Heiser Trophy named in honor of former Denison head coach Tommy Thomsen and former Kenyon coach Bill Heiser. Denison is 4-0 in those contests.
Denison will return to Granville for a Senior Day matchup against Wabash College at 1 p.m. on April 18.
