GRANVILLE, Ohio (November 1, 2022) – The 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament bracket is set as Denison University earned a 1-0 win at home over the College of Wooster in its regular-season finale to clinch the fourth seed in the conference tournament. The Big Red will enter the postseason with an overall record of 5-8-4 after playing a very tough nonconference schedule, and tied for third place in the NCAC standings at 4-1-2. They will travel to take on the NCAC regular-season champion Kenyon College Owls (7-5-4, 5-1-1) in the semifinals on Wednesday, November 2, at 2:30 p.m. in Gambier, Ohio.

It will be a little bit of a revenge match for the Big Red after it was the Owls who handed Denison its only loss in conference action this season with a 2-0 decision on the road on October 26. Denison outshot Kenyon 10-2 in the second half and had eight shots on goal in the match overall, but was unable to convert while the Owls scored on both of their attempts on goal. Goalkeeper Wynne Hague, who did not face a single shot on goal after entering the match in the 31st minute in the first match between the two teams, will now get the start in the semifinals and will look to help tip the scales in Denison's favor.

Junior Caroline Garrard leads Denison in both goals (5) and points (11) this season while senior Amy Chiero has added three goals and junior Callie Davis ranks second in the NCAC with 50 shot attempts and 26 shots on goal. Senior Victoria Nielsen, sophomore Kate Dalimonte and freshman Avery Butler have helped lead a Big Red defense that has posted five shutouts while giving up only three goals during seven conference matches this season.

Playing in between the pipes for the Big Red this season has been the combination of Hague along with freshmen Molly Noga. Hague has earned the start in 12 matches this year and totaled 38 saves, a .809 save percentage and 0.92 goals-against average, ranking her third in the NCAC in both saves and goal-against average.

Denison will be making its 19th trip to the conference tournament in the last 20 seasons and has last won the tournament in 2016. Kenyon, meanwhile, is coming off its first NCAC regular-season title since 2017, and will return to postseason play for the eighth straight season and will be seeking its second tournament title. In all, Kenyon has won four NCAC women's soccer championships while Denison owns a league-leading 11 titles.

In the other semifinal matchup on Wednesday, second-seeded DePauw University will host third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University at 7 p.m. The championship match will then be played at the home field of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, November 5.

Seeds and Schedule:
#1 Kenyon (16 pts., 4-1-1)
#2 DePauw (15 pts., 5-2-0)
#3 Ohio Wesleyan (14 pts., 4-1-2)
#4 Denison (14 pts., 4-1-2)
Note: Ohio Wesleyan won the head-to-head tiebreaker over Denison (14 pts.) for the third seed.
The tournament will open with semifinal games on Wednesday, November 2, with the championship game slated for Saturday, November 5, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinals.

Semifinal Games - Wednesday, November 2
#4 Denison at #1 Kenyon, 2:30 p.m.
#3 Ohio Wesleyan at #2 DePauw, 7:00 p.m.

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

Kenyon (5-1-1) won its fourth North Coast Athletic Conference women's soccer championship, its first since 2017, after finishing the regular season with 16 points in conference play. Denison owns a league-leading 11 titles, while Ohio Wesleyan has claimed nine titles all-time, followed by Wooster (5), Wittenberg (4), Kenyon (3) and DePauw (2).

DePauw (5-2-0, 15 pts.) finished second in the conference standings, followed by Ohio Wesleyan and Denison (4-1-2, 14 pts.), Wooster (2-3-2, 8 pts.), Wittenberg (1-3-3, 6 pts.), Oberlin (1-4-2, 5 pts.), and Hiram (0-7-0, 0 pts.).

As conference champions, the Owls will enter the 2022 NCAC Tournament as the top seed and will entertain fourth-seeded Denison on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 2:30 p.m., while second-seeded DePauw will host third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan at 7:00 p.m. that evening. Kenyon beat the Big Red, 2-0, in the regular season on Oct. 26, while Ohio Wesleyan earned a 1-0 decision over DePauw on Oct. 12.

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 ... Kenyon returns to the tournament for the eighth-straight season and will be seeking its second tournament title ... DePauw will make its sixth NCAC Tournament appearance in program history and is looking for its third tournament title … Ohio Wesleyan is making its ninth appearance in the conference tournament and returns to the field of four for the first time since 2011 when the Battling Bishops claimed their sixth tourney crown … Denison returns to the tournament field for the 19th time in the past 20 seasons and will look for its fourth tournament title, most recently winning it in 2016 … Last season after a pair of upsets in the NCAC semifinal round,fourth-seeded Wittenberg defeated third-seeded Wooster for the 2021 tourney title … Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg lead all programs with six tournament titles apiece, followed by Denison with three crowns, DePauw and Wooster with two and Kenyon owning one.

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