GRANVILLE, Ohio – Following a 2-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan last Saturday in Delaware, Denison women's soccer clinched the No. 1 seed going into the 2018 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Big Red will kick off tournament play this Wednesday, October 31 when they host fourth-seeded Wittenberg University on the turf at Deeds Field-Piper Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The Denison Sports Network will provide a free HD live stream of the game beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Denison checks in to the postseason at 12-2-2 overall and 6-0-2 in conference, including a No. 1 regional ranking coming out of the Great Lakes Region. This is a rematch of last year's NCAC Tournament semifinal played in Springfield when the Tigers edged DU 3-2 in overtime on a 95th-minute goal from Taylor Vaughn.
Ranked as the highest scoring offense in the NCAC with 36 goals, the Big Red are led by senior Maggie Armstrong and her nine goals, six assists, and 24 points, all ranked in the top-two in the conference. Freshman Liz Gilbert and junior Claire Kolff have assisted the senior on the scoring end, tallying six goals each and five combined assists, while sophomore Kelly O'Neill has followed with four goals on the season.
DU's dominance has also translated to the opposite end of the field as they enter the tournament with an NCAC-best 0.54 goals-against average. The Big Red backline of O'Neill, Emma Phinney, Kate Dannemiller, and Katie Livingston have helped freshman goalkeeper Patil Tcholakian allow only eight goals this season while posting a save percentage of .896 on 69 saves in the regular season.
The winner of the Denison-Wittenberg semifinal will face the winner of the No. 2 Wooster vs. No. 3 Kenyon semifinal in the championship on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the home field of the highest remaining seed.
Tickets for Wednesday's NCAC Tournament are $7 for adults and $3 for children (18-and-under). College students from NCAC institutions, as well as the first 50 Denison faculty or staff, are admitted free of charge.
NOTE: The location and start time were moved on Wednesday (Oct. 31) because of the heavy rainfall in the area.
