GRANVILLE, Ohio (November 1, 2023) – The second-seeded Denison University field hockey team defeated third-seeded DePauw University 2-0 on a cold Wednesday evening during the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals in Granville.

The only shot from either team in the first half came in the 20th minute when a misplay by the DePauw defense led to a turnover on the Denison attacking side and a goal by Lila Smith assisted by Katherine Flanagan in front of the goal to get the Big Red on the scoreboard.

Then in the 33rd minute, a pass into the circle by Helen Breen led to a shot on goal by Flanagan, who was able to stay with it after the initial save and send her second attempt into the goal to make it 2-0 Big Red.

Another shot by Smith was saved in the 38th minute before Kate Hinshaw took the first penalty corner of the game for either team 30 seconds later.

Then a minute after that, DePauw had its first shot of the game by Alexandra May, but Athena Joannou was there for the save, and then the follow-up shot by Amy Apfelbaum was blocked by the Denison defense.

Another penalty corner by Hinshaw in the 43rd minute led to another save by DePauw on a shot by Grace Lock from the top of the circle.

The fourth quarter started with a wide shot by Apfelbaum in the first two minutes, and that was the last shot for the Tigers until the final two minutes of the game when a trio of penalty corners for DePauw led to a pair of shots that were both saved by Joannou.

In the end, Denison outshot DePauw 7-5 overall and 6-3 on goal and led 4-3 on penalty corners.

With its win in the semifinals on Wednesday, Denison (12-5 overall) will travel to face top-seeded and undefeated Ohio Wesleyan University (17-0) in a rematch of last week's 3-2 shootout loss by the Big Red in Delaware, Ohio. The Big Red and the Battling Bishops will square off this time around with the NCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament on the line starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday, November 4. Ohio Wesleyan defeated fourth-seeded Kenyon College 6-0 on Wednesday to punch its ticket to the title game.

OWU will be gunning for its third straight NCAC Tournament Championship while Denison will be seeking its fourth tournament championship since 2017 and the program's fifth overall since the conference tournament began in 2002.