Denison 7, Ohio Wesleyan 6

Sophomore attacker Colin Short (Jamesville, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) scored to tie the game at 6-6, but 16th-ranked Denison got the game-winner with 1:17 left in regulation time, and withstood a pair of Ohio Wesleyan threats to take a win in a first-round game of the NCAA Division III playoffs on Wednesday in Granville.

Denison had taken a 6-4 lead on goals by Emmett Jones and Kyle Brown early in the third quarter, but Ohio Wesleyan evened the game as senior midfielder Jack McCormick (Olympia Fields, Ill./Marian Catholic) tallied midway through the third quarter and Short followed with a score off a pass from sophomore midfielder Drew Scharf (Redding, Conn./Barlow) with 2:22 left in the quarter.

Each team had a man-up opportunity during the fourth quarter, but neither was successful. Denison had an edge in shots, outshooting the Bishops, 12-1, during the first 12 minutes of the period, but sophomore Stephen Ford (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) recorded 4 saves in preserving the tie.

With just over 3 minutes left in regulation time, junior attacker A.J. Pellis (Edmonton, Alberta/St. Francis Xavier) forced a turnover and Ohio Wesleyan had possession in the Denison end. Short had a look from the right side, but his shot was blocked by the Denison defense. Ohio Wesleyan recovered the ball, and Scharf found a opening from the middle of the field, but his low shot was stopped by Big Red keeper Nick Petracca with 2:11 to play.

Denison brought the ball upfield and worked for a shot, with Tanner Smith working his way loose and finding the back of the net with 1:17 left in regulation time.

Junior midfielder Jesse Lawrence (McLean, Va./Maret School (D.C.)) won the ensuing face-off, giving the Bishops a chance to tie the game, but senior attacker Shaun Crow (Darnestown, Md./The Bullis School) saw his pass from the right side toward the crease picked off by Denison's Spencer Riehl.

Ohio Wesleyan forced a turnover in the Denison end, getting the ball back with about 20 seconds to go, but Denison's Mark Stanton got a stick on Crow's pass toward the goal mouth, with Stanton running down the ball as time expired.

Denison led, 3-0, after the first quarter, tallying first on Jones' goal midway through the period and adding a man-up score from Smith and a Porter McKay goal.

The Bishops came back quickly, getting on the scoreboard when Crow found Short at the 12:13 mark of the second quarter, then pulling within 3-2 when Lawrence won the ensuing face-off and passed to Crow, whose rocket from the right side found the back of the net just 8 seconds later. Pellis completed the Bishop comeback with a score at the 9:26 mark.

Denison re-took the lead on Corey Couture's goal late in the quarter, only to see the Bishops answer a minute later with a Short goal.

Short led the Bishops with 3 goals, while Crow finished with a goal and 2 assists.

Ford had 11 saves, with 4 of those coming in the fourth quarter.

Smith and Jones each had 2 goals and an assist for Denison. Petracca finished with 12 saves for the Big Red.

Box Score