Denison hosts Wooster on Wednesday, April 27, in the semifinal round of the North Coast Athletic Conference men's lacrosse tournament. The winner of this postseason game will earn a berth in the NCAC Championship against the winner of #2 Ohio Wesleyan and #3 Kenyon.
The Big Red enter the semifinal matchup ranked sixth in Division III with a record of 14-1. The tournament's top overall seed, they have won 13 consecutive games and finished conference play with a flawless 8-0 record. They are also undefeated at home, with a 6-0 record at Piper Stadium.
A balanced offensive attack paces Denison, with six players having scored at least 15 goals on the season. The senior trio of James Meager, Blair Farinholt, and Nick Bortolani has combined for 79 goals this year. Farinholt and junior Liam Rooney are tied for the team lead in assists with 21 apiece.
Between the pipes, senior Chris Thomas has posted an NCAC-best 5.84 goals-against-average. He has allowed double-digit goals in just one game this season. As a whole, the defense has allowed 5.67 goals per game, third-best in Division III. Ben Duhoski, Liam Burman, and Teddy Sawyer lead a strong back line, with Jon Reinhardt as the main long stick midfielder and Josh Happ, Brian Miller, and Hannibal George all pitching in as defensive middies.
The Fighting Scots finished fourth in the NCAC with a 5-3 conference record. They finished the regular season 10-6 and posted two separate win streaks of three games or more.
Junior Josh Herold leads an offense that scores 11.94 goals per game. Herold has scored 25 times and is second in the NCAC with 31 assists. Sophomore Sam Kuhn holds the team lead with 27 goals scored.
Defensively, the Scots cause 11.06 turnovers per game, most in the conference. Jack Gilio and Ethan Scully lead the way with 34 and 24 caused turnovers, respectively. In goal, senior Aaron Levy has started all 16 games and saved 56 percent of shots.
This will be the 53rd matchup between the two schools, with Denison leading the all-time series 48-4. The Big Red have won six in a row after falling, 12-11, at Wooster in 2010.
Faceoff for Wednesday's game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at Piper Stadium. Admission is free for students of any NCAC school with their student ID. Adults are $5 and children 18 and under are $3. If you are unable to attend the game in person, the Denison Sports Network will have a live video stream.
