Granville, Ohio- Denison advances to the NCAC Tournament Championship game after defeating the DePauw University Tigers 3-1 at home. The Big Red moves to 11-6 overall, while the Tigers wrap up their season with a record of 12-5.

In front of an energetic crowd, the Denison Big Red rattled off three goals within the first 12 minutes of play to go up 3-0 in the first quarter. Emma Gebhart knocked in the first goal off a slip pass by senior Nina Casingal. Six minutes later, Gebhart recovered a penalty corner and put in Denison's second goal on her own.

In the 12th minute, Lila Smith would extend the lead to three, beating multiple defenders and flicking it in for goal number three. Momentum would shift in the final seconds of the first quarter when DePauw first-year Rosie Ondrla sent a rocket into the back of Big Red's cage after collecting a pass from Hailey Nowak.

For the remaining three quarters, neither team could find the back of the cage, despite totalling a combined 10 corners between the two teams. In the end, the three goals put in the first quarter would be all the Big Red would need to advance to the tournament finals.

Denison would outshoot DePauw 14 to 10, and held a 6-5 advantage in penalty corners. Therese Lucian finished the day with two saves, while Olivia Streifel of DePauw finished the evening with five saves.

Up Next for the Big Red

Denison moves on to take on top-seeded Ohio Wesleyan in the 2025 NCAC Tournament Championship match on Saturday, Nov. 8. The Big Red and the Battling Bishops take to the field at 2 p.m. at OWU's Selby Stadium. Ohio Wesleyan beat fourth-seeded Wittenberg 3-0 in the other semifinal matchup on Wednesday evening. Saturday's head-to-head marks the fourth time in the past five years that OWU and Denison will face off in the NCAC Championship match. The Big Red, DePauw Tigers, and OWU shared a piece of the NCAC regular season title.