The Denison and Ohio Wesleyan lacrosse rivalry will be renewed for the 95th time on Saturday afternoon. As usual, plenty of postseason implications are riding on this annual matchup of national powers.
The Big Red checks into the game with a record of 11-1 and winners of 10-straight, dating back to an 8-7 loss at then-13th ranked Roanoke on Feb. 25. Denison is currently ranked fourth in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Lacrosse Magazine poll.
The Big Red is led in scoring by senior midfielder James Meager (26 goals). 2015 All-American, Blair Farinholt, leads the team in points with 37 (22 goals, 15 assists). All-American FOGO Eric Baumgardner returned to the lineup after missing the Oberlin game. He was 13-for-18 when facing off at Wooster on Wednesday night. Baumgardner is winning 59 percent of his faceoffs and leads the team with 43 ground balls.
Senior goalie Chris Thomas has started all 12 games. He has a .566 save percentage and is allowing 5.93 goals per game. Thomas is 2-1 in his career against OWU. He anchors a defense led by Ben Duhoski, Liam Burman and Teddy Sawyer on close defense. John Reinhardt is the long stick midfielder and short-stick D-middies Josh Happ, Brian Miller and Hannibal George have added some grit which has helped DU rank as the No. 6 scoring defense in the nation.
Denison has been excellent in clearing situations, posting a clearing percentage of .919 which ranks fourth in Division III lacrosse.
The Battling Bishops are 10-2 and ranked 11th in the nation. Their only losses have come against top-ranked Salisbury in overtime and No. 15 Cabrini. Freshman attackman Max Tennant has scored 42 goals and is connecting on 41 percent of his shot attempts. Senior Marcus Dietz is also back in the fold. He has scored 28 goals and has 25 assists.
Ohio Wesleyan's man-up unit is scoring 54 percent of the time so keeping Denison players out of the penalty box will be critical. On the flipside, when the Bishops are flagged, DU will need to convert. Ohio Wesleyan has committed 76 penalties for 58 minutes on the season. Denison has been flagged 46 times for 34.5 minutes.
Denison leads the all-time series 49-45 but the Bishops are riding a two-game winning streak in the series thanks to a pair of 9-8 wins over the Big Red in 2015. Prior to 2015, Denison had won 10 of their last 11 against the Battling Bishops.
Faceoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Piper Stadium in Granville. Admission is free and live video will be provided by the Denison Sports Network starting at 12:30 p.m.
