GRANVILLE, Ohio. (October 31, 2022) – The bracket for the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Field Hockey Tournament has been set, and Denison University will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed for the second year in a row. The Big Red will travel to play at second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, in Delaware, Ohio.

In addition to making its 13th straight conference tournament appearance, Denison is looking for its fourth NCAC Tournament title in five years and league-leading fifth overall tournament title.

A season-best five-game winning streak in conference play for the Big Red was ended by regular-season champion DePauw University, 1-0, in the final game of the regular season last Saturday. Denison finished the season 11-5 overall and 6-2 in the NCAC. Meanwhile, OWU finished its regular season on a seven-game winning streak, including a 3-0 win over the Big Red back on October 8, to finish 14-2 overall and 7-1 in the conference.

The Big Red look to reclaim the NCAC Tournament Championship after their streak of three straight conference tournament titles (2017-2019) was broken last year with an overtime loss, 2-1, to the Battling Bishops inside Piper Stadium.

Senior Madeleine Hunt leads the Big Red in most offensive categories, including goals (14), points (28), and game-winning goals (7). Hunt is ranked second in the NCAC in both goals and points while her seven-game winning goals leads the conference.

Sophomore Kristin Kelley and junior Grace Lock are tied for second on the team in goals (3) and in points (8) while junior Abigail Hano leads the Big Red and is tied for fourth in the conference with five assists.

In goal, sophomore Athena Joannou has started all 16 games for the Big Red. She has totaled 47 saves and a .734 save percentage while accumulating a 1.04 goals-against average. In all of the NCAC, Joannou leads the conference in shutouts with eight, is fourth in goals-against average and is fifth in saves.

The other semifinal matchup in the NCAC Tournament will see fourth-seeded Allegheny College head to top-seeded DePauw at 3 p.m. in Greencastle, Indiana. The Big Red defeated DePauw in nonconference action, 1-0, in late September, before DePauw won eight of its last nine games to finish 12-5 overall and 8-0 in conference. It was the first regular-season championship for DePauw since the 2016 season.

2022 represented the fifth regular-season title for DePauw. Denison still leads all field hockey squads with 12 NCAC titles all-time, followed by Wittenberg with 10, Ohio Wesleyan nine and Wooster with eight.

The NCAC Tournament championship game is set for Saturday, November 5, at the sight of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinals.

Seeds and Schedule:
#1 DePauw (8-0)
#2 Ohio Wesleyan (7-1)
#3 Denison (6-2)
#4 Allegheny (4-4)
Note: Allegheny wins the three-way tiebreaker over Kenyon and Wittenberg for the fourth seed.

The tournament will open with semifinal games on Tuesday, Nov. 1, with the championship game slated for Saturday, November 5, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinals.

Semifinal Games - Tuesday, November 1
#4 Allegheny at #1 DePauw, 3:00 p.m.
#3 Denison at #2 Ohio Wesleyan, 3:00 p.m.

Championship Game - Saturday, November 5
Winners of semifinal games at highest remaining seed, TBA

DePauw captured its fifth North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey title after finishing the regular season with a perfect 8-0 record against conference opponents. Denison leads all field hockey squads with 12 titles all-time. Wittenberg is second with 10 league titles, while Ohio Wesleyan is third with nine and Wooster is fourth with eight, followed by Kenyon (6), DePauw (4) and Oberlin (2).

Ohio Wesleyan (7-1) finished second in the conference standings, followed by Denison (6-2), Allegheny, Kenyon and Wittenberg (4-4), Wooster (2-6), Oberlin (1-7) and Earlham (0-8).

The top-seeded Tigers will host the fourth-seeded Gators in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 3:00 p.m. DePauw earned a 3-0 victory over Allegheny in the regular season on Oct. 16. In the other semifinal game on Tuesday, also at 3:00 p.m., the second-seeded Battling Bishops will host the third-seeded Big Red. During the regular season, Ohio Wesleyan claimed a 3-0 win over Denison on Oct. 8.

The championship match is set for Saturday, Nov. 5, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round.

Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament ... DePauw enters the NCAC postseason for the ninth time and will be looking for its fourth title … Ohio Wesleyan, the defending champion, will make its third-consecutive appearance, sixth overall, and will look for its second NCAC title … Denison is making its 13th-straight appearance, 17th overall, and will look to claim the league lead by earning a fifth tournament title ... Allegheny enters the NCAC postseason for the first time in just their fourth year as a program … Kenyon and Denison lead all programs with four tournament titles apiece followed by DePauw, Wooster and Wittenberg all with three, while Oberlin and Ohio Wesleyan each own one NCAC tourney title ... Ohio Wesleyan captured the 2021 NCAC tournament title as the No. 4 seed after knocking off No. 1 Kenyon, 1-0, in the semifinals and then defeating No. 3 Denison, 2-1, in an overtime championship final.

Media Coverage: To follow the action this postseason, please check out our Live Events page for all of the video and live stats details: https://denisonbigred.com/coverage

Additional Links:
NCAC Tournament Page
NCAC Ticket Policy