Box Score No. 19 Denison advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship with a 19-5 win over Wittenberg University in the semifinals from Piper Stadium in Granville, Ohio. The win sets up a rematch with Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, April 25 at Selby Stadium in Delaware, Ohio. Faceoff is slated for 1 p.m.
The Big Red were clicking from the onset, scoring seven first quarter goals which allowed them to open up a 12-1 halftime lead.
Four of Denison's 12 first half goals came in man-up. Will Donohue opened the game with an EMO goal from Liam Rooney. After a Jamie McCahan score, Rooney would score a man-up goal off a feed from Blair Farinholt. With 10 minutes to play in the first quarter Denison already held a 3-0 lead.
Rooney, who would lead Denison in scoring with a career-high 8 points, would net a first quarter hat trick with two more goals via assists from Donohue and James Meager. After the Tigers got on the scoreboard with 3:59 to play in the first, Denison's Nick Caravana ripped a shot past Wittenberg goalie Jay Dolan for his 18th goal of the season.
A slash on Wittenberg's Sean Kelleher less than two minutes into the second quarter put DU in another man-up situation and Rooney would make the Tigers pay with an impressive submarine rip from the near corner. Donohue was the assist man on Rooney's fourth goal.
The pair would trade places with 9:03 to play in the second when Donohue scored off a pass from Rooney in extra-man. One minute later, Rooney would feed Brian Miller for his ninth goal of the campaign. Miller's goal gave the Big Red a 10-1 lead.
Scores by McCahan and Donohue later in the period would set the 12-1 halftime score.
Denison opened the second half in extra-man, without a faceoff after a slash on Wittenberg's David Strahm. While the Tigers managed to burn the penalty, Denison struck at the 13:41 mark when Rooney pumped in his fifth goal of the night and his 40th of the season. He is the 13th player in DU history to score 40 goals in a single season.
With 9:35 to play in the third, Wittenberg's Zach Shy scored making the score 13-2. With three minutes left in the quarter, Denison's lead would balloon to 12 as McCahan scored his fourth goal of the contest.
In the final quarter Denison got goals from Justin DeMarchi, Thomas Farrell, Nick Bortolani, Jake Ellis and a second score from Miller, setting the final at 19-5. The Big Red outshot Wittenberg 47-19 and were 4-of-7 in man-up. Eric Baumgardner was 11-for-18 facing off with seven ground balls. Ben Hearn added four ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Clark Bullington posted six saves for Denison in 45 minutes of action. He faced 14 shots from the Tigers.
This will mark the third consecutive season that Denison and Ohio Wesleyan will meet in the NCAC Tournament Championship game. The winner of Saturday's game will receive the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
