GRANVILLE, Ohio (November 6, 2023) – The Denison University field hockey team is headed back to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the 15th time in school history and for the first time since 2019. Denison carries a 13-5 overall record into the opening round where the Big Red will face off against No. 8 nationally-ranked York College of Pennsylvania at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 8.

The Big Red earned the North Coast Athletic Conference automatic qualifier to the tournament after taking down top-seeded and undefeated Ohio Wesleyan University by a final score of 1-0 in overtime to win the NCAC Tournament Championship on Saturday.

After scoring the game-winning goal against Ohio Wesleyan in overtime in the NCAC Tournament Championship, freshman Emma Gebhart leads Denison with nine goals and 19 points on the season while fellow-freshman Lila Smith is next with six goals and 15 points. Seniors Kate Hinshaw (3 goals; 10 points) and Abigail Hano lead the Big Red with four assists on the season while freshman Katherine Flanagan (7 points) is the fourth player with three or more goals on the year.

Leading a Big Red defense that did not allow a single goal in 12 games against conference opponents this season was seniors Grace Lock and Cary Mauck and sophomore Rachel Gilio. In addition, junior goalkeeper Athena Joannou has recorded 14 shutouts and 82 saves to go along with a 0.64 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage.

It will be the first-ever meeting between Denison and York, which earned their second straight NCAA Tournament berth after going 15-4 and advancing to the MAC Commonwealth championship game where they fell to No. 5 Messiah University 1-0 on Saturday. The Spartans went 1-1 in the 2022 NCAA Tournament as they beat DeSales before falling to Salisbury.

The winner between Denison and York will head to Newport News, Virginia, to compete in the Christopher Newport regional over the weekend. There, they would face the winner of the Lynchburg-Keystone opening round game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, November 11. Christopher Newport will host the winner of the Kean–St. Mary's (Md.) first round contest.
 
2023 NCAA DIII Field Hockey Championship Selections
Interactive Bracket
Championship Updates
Live Stats
Video