Box Score GRANVILLE -- Hannah Sklar scored off a deflection in the 75th minute to lift Kenyon to a 2-1 overtime victory over Denison on Wednesday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2016 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
Trailing by a goal with less than four minutes to play, the Big Red earned a golden opportunity when they found themselves with a two-player advantage after the Ladies drew a second green card within a two-minute span.
Sophomore Lucy Pearsall quickly delivered a ball to senior captain Abby Martone who buried a one-time and into the back of the cage. Martone's 10th goal of the season tied the match at 1-1 and sent the game into overtime. Pearsall had a chance to end the game in regulation, but her shot from the left wing was kicked away by Kenyon goalie Sarah Speroff.
Denison applied the early pressure in the extra session, which resulted in a yellow card on the Ladies just 72 seconds into OT. In the 74th minute, Martone unloaded a shot from the right wing that went just outside the left post.
Sklar, who scored the game's first goal in the 33rd minute, brought the match to an end at 74:47 when she redirected an initial shot attempt by Shannon Hart from the top of the shooting circle.
Both teams registered seven shots in the match, with Kenyon sending six of theirs on frame compared to just three shots on cage for DU. The Ladies held a slim 7-5 edge in penalty corners. Denison keeper Ellen Westfall made four saves, while her counterpart, Speroff, had two stops.
With the win, third-seeded Kenyon clinched a spot in the NCAC Tournament Championship where they will face top-seeded DePauw, who defeated fourth-seeded Wittenberg 5-2 this afternoon. That championship match will take place on Saturday in Greencastle, Ind.
Denison's season comes to a close with a 14-5 record.