LEXINGTON, Va. (November 12, 2021) – The Denison University men's soccer team was defeated 1-0 by Covenant College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Tournament on Friday evening on Alston Parker Watt Field.

It was the first meeting all-time between Denison and Covenant, and something had to give as the Big Red entered the matchup with an eight-match unbeaten streak while the Scots were on a 14-match unbeaten streak.

Playing in only its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, Covenant got on the board first as the first corner kick of the match for either team resulted in a header by the Scots inside the far post in the 15th minute.

A little bit over two minutes after the goal by the Scots, the first shot attempt of the match for Denison was a strong attempt outside the box by Ben Goeller that was saved by the Covenant goalkeeper Henry Hooks.

Denison's goalkeeper, Dylan Brown, made his first save of the match in the 22nd minute.

In the 40th minute, a free kick by Luke Mattessich found Harrison Netburn near the goal, but his shot was knocked out of play by the goalkeeper for a corner kick, which led to a shot from Lorenz Hoover that was blocked.

The Big Red's other two shots in the first half were both by Ethan Miracle as Denison finished the first half leading 5-4 in shots and 3-2 on shots on goal.

In the first minute of the second half, the Denison defense had to make a block of its own on a shot by the Scots, and then Brown made a trio of saves between the 55th and 60th minutes.

Denison's first shot of the second half did not come until the 70th minute when Vitor Rocha missed high with the left foot.

The Big Red did not get another shot attempt until the 88th minute when Goeller's second attempt was blocked.

The Big Red finished its first full season under Head Coach Brandon Bianco 12-5-2 overall while winning the third North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in program history and making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009 when they last won the conference tournament. Covenant, meanwhile, improved to 12-3-4 and will now advance to play against No. 1 nationally-ranked Washington & Lee University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"Seasons rarely end the way you'd like them to, but if they're going to end, I want them to end with our guys playing their hearts out," spoke Coach Bianco. "They did that tonight and all year. I couldn't be more proud of this group. I want to send a special thank you to our seniors for giving everything they did and to all of Big Red nation for supporting this team."