GRANVILLE, Ohio-- The Denison field hockey team will carry its 14-game winning streak into Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game against Wittenberg on Saturday, Nov. 1. Denison, who entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed, defeated DePauw in Wednesday's semifinal matchup, 3-0. They will face third-seeded Wittenberg who upset No. 2 seed, Kenyon, 2-1 in Gambier.
Denison (16-3) and Wittenberg (14-5) will clash at Piper Stadium on the campus of Denison University at 2 p.m.
This is the third meeting between Denison and Wittenberg in 2017. The Big Red handed the Tigers a decisive 7-2 defeat on Oct. 21 thanks to a hat-trick from Charlotte Happel and two goals from Charlotte Godfrey. On Sept. 23 in Springfield, DU needed overtime to escape with a 3-2 win over the Tigers. Happel's game-winner 1:23 into the first OT marked Denison's third victory of its current 14-game winning streak.
During Denison's current winning streak they have outscored the opposition 48-8. Nine of the 14 wins have been shutouts. Happel leads the team in goals with 13 and Godfrey is the leader in points with 29 (12 goals, 5 assists).
Wittenberg rallied from a 1-0 deficit at Kenyon thanks to goals from Channa Visseren in the 26th minute and Riley Trexler in the 41st minute. Visseren leads the conference in goals with 15 and Audrey Coler is second on the team with 14 goals. This is Wittenberg's first NCAC Tournament Championship appearance since 2010.
The NCAC Field Hockey Tournament has been in existence for 16 years and Denison has qualified for the tournament 13 times. This is Denison's fourth appearance in the NCAC Tournament Championship game. Their previous appearances in the title game came in 2011, 2012 and 2014. They won the 2011 NCAC Tournament championship by defeating Wittenberg in the semifinal and DePauw in the final.
Denison leads the NCAC in shutouts (11), shots (373), goals-against average (0.77) and penalty corners attempted (209). They are second in assists (32) and third in goals scored (53).
Tickets for Wednesday's NCAC Tournament are $7 for adults and $3 for children (18-and-under). College students from NCAC institutions are admitted free of charge. In addition, Denison University will waive admission fees for the first 50 faculty/staff members (valid ID is required).
For those who can't make it to Piper Stadium, the Denison Sports Network will offer a live video stream beginning at 1:45 p.m. You can watch the game on your computer or mobile device or you can download the brand new custom app for Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Just visit the app store on your streaming device and search "Denison" to download. Read the official press release for more information.
