GRANVILLE-- Denison's Jacquie Graham scored 16:30 into the first half of play and that was enough to push the Big Red past Case Western Reserve, 1-0 from a soggy Piper Stadium.

The match was played in a consistent downpour from start to finish, but that didn't seem to stop Denison from being the aggressor in the first half.  The first goal developed after a foul by the Spartans gave Denison's Drew Wentzel a free kick from 30 yards.  Wentzel's shot was driven into the Case Western Reserve wall of defenders but the rebound ended up at the foot of Jessica Skelly.  Her shot was saved by Case's keeper, Sarah Newcomb, but the ball was still live.  Anne Denz took the next crack at it, but that shot was blocked into the sky.  Graham, who was positioned about five yards in front of the goal, got her right foot on the ball, scoring the only goal of the match.

Later in the half, Graham and Denz both had shots turned away by Newcomb.  In the 29th minute, another free kick by Wentzel from 27-yards was also saved by the Spartan netminder.

Case's best opportunity came 12 minutes into the second half when Amy Lindberg was fouled in the box, near the end line.  That resulted in a penalty kick attempt for Case that was sent wide of the goal.

Over the final 15 minutes of play, Denison goalkeeper Jenny Herold was put to the test.  She came up with three saves while seeing six shot attempts from the Spartans.  For the match, she finished with seven saves, just two short of her season-high.

The late offense from Case Western Reserve resulted in a 16-15 advantage in shots.  Corner kicks were 3-2 in favor of the Spartans.  Newcomb finished with six saves for Case while Lindberg led them in shots with five.

Denison's offense was led by Graham and Denz who each took four shots.  The Big Red improves to 4-3-3 while the Spartans drop to 4-3-2.  DU will travel to Hiram on Saturday, October 1 for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff against the Terriers.  Denison's seven remaining regular season matches will be against North Coast Athletic Conference opponents.