Delaware, Ohio—The Denison men's lacrosse team lost 14-12 to Ohio Wesleyan in the 2026 North Coast Athletic Conference Semifinals. The Big Red finished the season 8-9 overall and 6-2 in conference, sharing the NCAC title. The Battling Bishops improve to 10-6 and are co-champions with Denison, Kenyon, Wooster, and Oberlin, all at 6-2 in conference.
The Battling Bishops opened with a three-goal lead. Denison responded midway through the first quarter with unassisted goals by Michael Cassidy and Teddy Hardy, narrowing the deficit to one. After Hardy's score, Ohio Wesleyan added a fourth goal, quickly matched by Cassidy's second, bringing Denison within one entering the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Brady Monturio tied the game at four, and the Big Red held Ohio Wesleyan scoreless for almost five minutes before the Battling Bishops regained the lead. OWU then put together its second three-goal run of the evening, but first-year Jonah Frank broke the streak to make it 5-7. In the final five minutes of the half, the teams traded goals, leaving the Big Red down 7-9 at halftime.
As play resumed after halftime, Denison outscored Ohio Wesleyan 3-1 in the third period. Macky Peck gathered an assist five minutes into the third quarter to get the Big Red within one and then again just ten seconds later to tie the game at nine apiece. With 8:59 left in the third quarter, Denison would take its first lead of the game, 10-9, following Monturio's second goal of the game, but the Battling Bishops would come crashing back with a goal of their own to tie the game a third time at ten.
Denison scored first in the fourth, but Ohio Wesleyan answered with a late surge, outscoring Denison 4-2 for a 14-12 win and advancing to the NCAC Championship.
Senior Andrew Albert made 12 saves in goal for Denison, raising his career total to 584 for a place in the program's top ten.
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