GAMBIER, Ohio (May 7, 2022) – Denison University jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first quarter and held a 4-1 lead at halftime, but a 7-1 third quarter for the home team followed by two goals in a 40-second span in the fourth quarter helped propel Kenyon College to a win in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Saturday in Gambier.

After suffering an 8-6 loss at Kenyon on April 9, snapping the Big Red's 45-game regular-season conference winning streak that dated back to 2015, Denison was seeking payback in the title game, but now Denison's postseason fate will lie in the hands of the selection committee.

DU set the tone early, scoring on back-to-back goals by Casey McTague in the first quarter while adding goals by Josie Lucchesi and Ashley Viglione in the second quarter to lead it 4-0 before the first goal of the game by Kenyon in the final three minutes before halftime.

Then after the third goal of the game by McTague started the scoring in the second half and put Denison ahead 5-1, seven straight goals by the Ladies, five of which came on free position shots, swung the momentum in Kenyon's favor.

Denison answered back with three straight goals to open the fourth quarter to tie the game at 8-8 as Maddie Morrell scored twice and McTague added her fourth goal of the game, but Kenyon had the answer with back-to-back goals by Mallory Brophy within 40 seconds of each other to go back ahead by two goals with 7:23 left to play.

Ana Ortiz DeRosa scored with 4:25 remaining to get Denison to within one at 10-9, but another goal by Kenyon with three minutes left got it back to a two-score game before the fifth goal of the game by Brophy with only 19 seconds left put it away.

The Ladies outshot the Big Red 13-3 in the third quarter, won six of the nine draw controls, and did not turn the ball over once in the period. In all for the game, Denison was outshot 32-23 and finished with 16 turnovers while Kenyon had only nine.

Oddly enough, all 12 of Kenyon's goals on Saturday were unassisted as the Ladies benefited from great individual efforts as Brophy scored five goals and three others had two.

For Denison, McTague matched Brophy with five goals and added four draw controls and three groundballs.

After accumulating eight goals, 10 draw controls, four groundballs and three caused turnovers between the two tournament games this week, McTague was named to the NCAC All-Tournament Team. She was joined by Viglione (4 goals, 1 assist), Isabelle Brocato (1 groundball, 1 caused turnover) and Caroline O'Dea (18 saves, 15 goals allowed).

Denison falls to 11-6 on the season while Kenyon, which improved to 6-0 at home and has now won a program-record 13 games in a row without a loss since March 6, improved to 15-1 overall. The Ladies tied their program record for victories in a single season. For the Big Red, it was the end of their run of seven consecutive conference tournament titles.

Kenyon will receive the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Denison, meanwhile, will await the selection committee's decision on a potential at-large bid. The NCAA will announce the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship field on Monday, May 9, at 10:30 a.m. with a live selection show airing on NCAA.com. The NCAA Tournament opens with the first and second rounds on Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15.

For more information on the 2022 NCAA DIII women's lacrosse tournament selections and tournament dates, please click HERE.