Box Score
Denison 2, Ohio Wesleyan 1

Junior midfielder Antonio Romanelli (Lewis Center/Columbus St. Francis DeSales) scored to bring 22nd/23rd-ranked Ohio Wesleyan within 2-1, but Denison held on to upset the Bishops in a North Coast Athletic Conference contest on Saturday at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.

Despite the loss, Ohio Wesleyan will be the No. 2 seed in next week's NCAC tournament.  The Bishops will host Denison, which won a tiebreaker for the No. 3 seed, in a tournament semifinal game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.

Senior midfielder Aidan Stout (Boulder, Colo./Fairview) had the first scoring chance of the game, getting to a loose ball after a free kick, but his header was tracked down by Big Red keeper Dylan Brown.

Brown made another stop in the ninth minute, punching away a corner kick by junior midfielder Adam Yingling (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg Area) that appeared to be curving into the Denison goal.

The Big Red took the lead in the 11th minute when Dan Milhollen sent a long pass to the goal mouth and Leo Herard headed it past junior goalkeeper J.P. Baughman (Westerville/Columbus St. Francis DeSales).

Senior midfielder Will Sharer (Avon) connected on a header after a Bishop corner kick in the 30th minute, but Brown made a fine play to preserve the lead.

The Bishops had a pair of chances late in the half, first when a drive by junior midfielder Antonio Romanelli (Lewis Center/Columbus St. Francis DeSales) glanced off a Big Red defender but the carom went right to Brown, and then when Brown made the stop on a shot from close range by sophomore forward Ben Sobotka (Dublin/Jerome).

Denison added to its lead in the 75th minute when Ryan Albers sent a free kick from midfield into the penalty area, and Stu Windell headed the ball inside the left post.

Ohio Wesleyan answered just under 3 minutes later, after Denison was called for a hand ball inside the penalty area on a shot by sophomore midfielder Ryan Huelsman (Powell/Columbus St. Charles).  Romanelli stepped to the spot and converted the penalty kick to make it a 2-1 game with 12:36 left in regulation time.

Freshman midfielder Hector Gomez (Columbus/St. Francis DeSales) kept the game at 2-1 by clearing an Eric Buer shot off the line in the 81st minute.

The Bishops had a few chances during the closing minutes, the best coming when Brown diverted a shot by Yingling in the 86th minute, but Ohio Wesleyan could not get the equalizer.

"We couldn't have asked for anything more from the guys," said Bishop head coach Jay Martin.  "They did what we wanted, and had a lot of shots on goal, but we just didn't score.  We played really well, but just could not punch it in."

Ohio Wesleyan outshot Denison, 34-4.  Baughman went the distance in the Ohio Wesleyan goal.  Brown finished with 11 saves for the Big Red.

Box Score