Ohio Wesleyan at Denison
The Ohio Wesleyan University men's lacrosse team will face Denison in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Denison University in Granville.
Ticket prices for NCAC tournament games are $5 for adults and $3 for students and children 18 and under. Students bearing an ID from an NCAC institution will be admitted free of charge. There will be no re-entry, and no containers or backpacks will be permitted.
Ohio Wesleyan (13-3) is the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Battling Bishops advanced to the championship game with an 8-4 win over Kenyon in a semifinal matchup on Wednesday. Ohio Wesleyan finished second in the NCAC championship race with a 7-1 record. Ohio Wesleyan was ranked No. 15 in this week's USILA Division III poll.
Denison (15-1) is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Big Red advanced to the championship game with a 17-8 win over Wooster in a semifinal contest on Wednesday. The Big Red won the NCAC championship with an 8-0 record this season. Denison was ranked No. 6 in this week's USILA Division III poll.
This marks the fourth consecutive season that Ohio Wesleyan and Denison have met in the championship of the NCAC tournament. Ohio Wesleyan won the tournament championship game in 2013 and 2015, while Denison won in 2014. Denison leads the all-time series, 50-45.
In this year's regular-season meeting, Denison won by a 7-5 score on April 16 in Granville. Senior attacker Marcus Dietz (Westerville/St. Francis DeSales) scored early in the third quarter to give Ohio Wesleyan a 3-1 lead, but Denison took the lead with a 4-0 run and went on to the win. Five different players scored goals for Ohio Wesleyan. Junior Ben Rigger (Decatur, Ga.) was credited with 8 saves in the Bishop crease. James Meager and Blair Farinholt scored 2 goals apiece for Denison. Chris Thomas finished with 12 saves for the Big Red.
The winner of Saturday's game will receive the NCAC's automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III playoffs.
