Box Score
Denison 7, Ohio Wesleyan 5
Senior attacker Marcus Dietz (Westerville/St. Francis DeSales) scored early in the third quarter to give 11th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan a 3-1 lead, but fourth-ranked Denison took the lead with a 4-0 run and went on to record a North Coast Athletic Conference win over the Bishops on Saturday in Granville.
The Big Red took a 1-0 lead on a man-up goal by Blair Farinholt just under 5 minutes of the game. That goal would be the only score of the first quarter.
Ohio Wesleyan evened the game with a goal by freshman midfielder Steven Hildebrand (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) at the 9:33 mark of the second quarter, and took the lead with a goal from sophomore midfielder Luke Leyden (Northfield, Mass./Northfield Mt. Hermon) midway through the quarter, and that 2-1 margin would stand through the remainder of the first half.
Dietz's goal increased the Bishop lead to 3-1 just under 90 seconds into the second half, but Denison tied the game with scores by Farinholt and Nick Bortolani, the latter a man-up goal with 11:48 remaining in the quarter.
The Bishops retook the lead on a score by freshman midfielder Jack Harvey (New Providence, N.J.) just under 90 seconds after that, but the Big Red got goals from James Meager and Alex Paulus less than a minute apart for a 5-4 lead midway through the quarter.
Denison increased its lead to 6-4 on Jake Waxter's goal with 3:01 left in the period, and opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a goal by James Meager.
Ohio Wesleyan closed to within 7-5 on a man-up score by senior midfielder Cooper Del Zotto (Orangeville, Ontario/Taft School) with 6:30 left in regulation time. Harvey had a look at the Denison goal on Ohio Wesleyan's next possession, but Denison keeper Chris Thomas made the save to keep the score at 7-5.
Five different players scored goals for Ohio Wesleyan. Junior Ben Rigger (Decatur, Ga.) was credited with 8 saves in the Bishop crease.
Meager and Farinholt scored 2 goals apiece for Denison. Thomas finished with 12 saves for the Big Red.
Box Score
