DELAWARE, Ohio (November 2, 2022) – In 2021, the Denison University men's soccer team stunned Ohio Wesleyan University with a 1-0 victory to advance to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship match, but this year, the Battling Bishops returned the favor, defeating the Big Red 3-0 in the semifinals this time around.

With the loss, Denison's season comes to an end at 10-5-3 overall. Ohio Wesleyan, meanwhile, improves to 9-4-4 and advances to the tournament championship on Saturday at No. 3 nationally-ranked Kenyon College.

The story of the first half was a number of near misses for the Big Red offense combined with a relentless attack and strong finishing skills by the Battling Bishops.

Denison had a good look at a potential goal in the 15th minute when a nice pass found Lorenz Hoover open in the middle of the field, but his shot from just outside the box was missed high.

Then just over 20 minutes into the match, Denison put a scare into the Bishops as a free kick from beyond midfield by Henri Heyes bounced through the box and went into the goal just as another Denison player crashed into the OWU goalkeeper Mason Taylor, but the ensuing foul call on the Big Red negated that potential score.

Less than a minute later, it was the Bishops who came up inches short of scoring the first goal as Christopher Guerra made a couple of great moves inside the box, got some space and fired a laser shot that went off the right post.

However, the Bishops did not miss in the 25th minute as a long pass downfield by OWU led to a costly mistake by Denison when the defense tried to head the ball back to the goalkeeper, Tommy Prokos. Instead, Will Harr sprinted downfield and got to the ball first, dribbled away from the diving Prokos, and then found his teammate Landan Kuhn running through the middle of the box for the goal.

The Big Red continued to attack and fight for a goal as shots by Ethan Miracle and Hoover in the 29th and 30th minutes were both saved by Taylor. Then in the 32nd minute, a free kick near midfield by Pierre de la Croix-Vaubois led to a shot by Heyes that went across the box and bounced off the left post.

Unfortunately, OWU capitalized on the misses and made it 2-0 in the 35th minute when a free kick just outside the box from Guerra was beautifully placed in front of the goal where a quick header by Cameron Parker left Prokos with no chance to make the stop.

In the second half, OWU continued to take advantage of misses by the Big Red and turn them into goals on the other end.

Miracle had a shot blocked in the 57th minute, leading to a corner kick by Luke Mattessich and the fourth shot of the match by Heyes, which resulted in the third save of the match for Taylor. Then in the 59th minute, another long pass downfield to Guerra led to a breakaway goal to make it 3-0 Bishops.

In the 74th minute, Taylor proved his worth in goal and turned back the Big Red once again by stopping a penalty kick from Luca Vicinelli before getting back up to make the save on the ensuing shot by Corey Brunner.

Both teams finished the match with 12 total shots while each of Denison's five shots on goal resulted in a save by Taylor and each of OWU's shots on goal found the back of the net. Taylor entered the match ranking first in the NCAC with nine shutouts and second with a 0.552 goals-against average, and he certainly improved upon both of those numbers against the Big Red on Wednesday.

Denison's Head Coach Brandon Bianco spoke after the match and said "These seasons always end more abruptly than you hope but I'm incredibly proud of the team's effort all year. We didn't have it tonight and credit to Ohio Wesleyan. I also want to credit our seniors for helping us establish a new competitive standard in the program. We're better because of them. Thank you to our parents, alumni, and Denison community for the support this year."

The NCAC All-Tournament team was also revealed at the conclusion of the tournament. Twelve members from Denison, Kenyon, Ohio Wesleyan and Wabash made up the field. Ohio Wesleyan's Taylor was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

NCAC All-Tournament Team:
Lorenz Hoover, Denison
Henri Heyes, Denison
Caleb Castano, Wabash
Soren Russel, Wabash
Aidan Burns, Kenyon
Alem Duratovic, Kenyon
Scott Upton, Kenyon
Brady West, OWU
Cristian Gomez, OWU
Will Harr, OWU
Ethan Marshall, OWU
Mason Taylor, OWU (Tournament MVP)