Ohio Wesleyan 3, Denison 0

Senior midfielder Tyler Wall (Columbus/Upper Arlington) racked up 2 goals and an assist as fourth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan broke a North Coast Athletic Conference record with a win over Denison on Saturday at Roy Rike Field.

The win extended Ohio Wesleyan's unbeaten string in NCAC games to 29 games (28-0-1), breaking the NCAC record of 28 (26-0-2) set by Ohio Wesleyan from 2004-07. Combining the 2 streaks, along with the 2 conference losses that separated them, gives the Bishops an astounding record of 54-2-3 in conference play since October 2004, a winning percentage of .941.

Scoring chances were few and far between during a physical first half that saw the teams combine for twice as many fouls (22) as shots (11).

Senior forward Tyler Bryant (Chillicothe/Unioto) broke open inside the Denison penalty area midway through the period, but his shot sliced outside the right post.

Denison's Ryan Torgerson nearly put the Big Red ahead in the 26th minute with an open look from the box, but his shot hit the left post and was cleared.

Three minutes later, Wall came up with a loose ball in the Denison box, but his shot was saved by Big Red keeper Matt Wagner.

The Bishops struck early in the second half when freshman midfielder Paolo Bucci (Dublin/Bishop Watterson) centered the ball from the right side to Bryant, who played it back to Wall on the right side. Wall's shot found the back of the net to put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay.

Wall returned the favor in the 59th minute, playing the ball to Bryant, whose shot from the left side gave the Bishops a 2-0 lead.

The Wall-Bryant duo connected again in the 86th minute, this time with Bryant sending a centering pass from the left side to Wall, who finished from in front of the Denison goal.

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Denison, 14-7. Sophomore Paul Hendricks (Columbus/Worthington Kilbourne) made 2 saves in recording the shutout in the Ohio Wesleyan goal. Wagner finished with 4 saves for the Big Red.

Box Score