The North Coast Athletic Conference women's lacrosse championship returns to Granville, Ohio on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. when the Denison Big Red host the Oberlin Yeowomen. Third-seeded Denison is currently on six-game winning streak after upsetting second-seeded Wooster 14-11 on Wednesday night. Fourth-seeded Oberlin upset top-seeded Wittenberg on Wednesday night by a final of 13-9.
In the victory over Wooster, Denison was led by Lizzy Pellicane, who scored a career-high five goals. Kelsey Wright added a hat trick and Erin Keller scored a pair of goals as the Big Red outshot the Scots 31-25. Freshman Becca Jones had eight saves between the pipes.
Denison is looking for its fourth NCAA Tournament berth in the last five seasons. Last year, Denison earned road victories against Allegheny and Wittenberg in the NCAC Tournament en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Denison is 44-5 all-time against Oberlin and has not lost to the Yeowomen since the 1998 NCAC Tournament, a streak of 19 consecutive victories. These two teams last met two weeks ago, with Denison earning a 15-8 road victory. Oberlin and Denison were tied at 5 at halftime before the Big Red exploded in the second half, pulling away for the win. Claire Ludlow and Claudia Rafi led the Big Red with three goals apiece as Denison outshot Oberlin 30-23.
A victory this weekend would result in Denison's 17th NCAA Tournament appearance. The action begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday from Deeds Field-Piper Stadium. If you cannot make it, the game will be streamed live in high definition through denisonbigred.com.
