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 noon on Sunday in Granville.
Ticket prices for NCAC tournament games are $7 for adults and $3 for students and children 18 and under. Students bearing a valid ID from an NCAC institution will be admitted free of charge.
Ohio Wesleyan (11-7) is the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Battling Bishops finished second in the NCAC championship race with a 7-1 record. Ohio Wesleyan advanced to the championship game with a 25-10 win over Kenyon in a tournament semifinal matchup on Thursday, a contest that saw senior attacker Max Tennant (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) surpass the 70-goal mark for the second consecutive year and move into third place all-time in NCAA Division III with 258 goals, senior midfielder Cole Jamieson (Okemos, Mich.) set a school season record for goals by a midfielder, and senior attacker Steven Hildebrand (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) surpass the 200-point mark for his Ohio Wesleyan career.
Denison (15-2), ranked No. 11 in this week's Division III polls, is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. The Big Red won the NCAC championship with an 8-0 record. Denison advanced to the championship game with a 17-8 win over Wooster in Thursday's other semifinal contest.
This marks the seventh time in as many seasons that Ohio Wesleyan and Denison will meet in the NCAC tournament championship game. The Big Red won last year's meeting, 14-7, at Selby Stadium. Denison has won 4 of the 6 meetings between the teams in the NCAC tournament championship game.
In this year's regular-season meeting, Denison won by a 16-13 score on April 27 at Selby Stadium. Hildebrand scored to give Ohio Wesleyan a 12-9 lead late in the third quarter, but the Big Red opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run and went on to the win. Hildebrand collected 2 goals and 3 assists for Ohio Wesleyan, and junior goalkeeper Joey Sichenzia (Sayville, N.Y.) recorded 14 saves. Spencer Butler led Denison with 7 goals, and Reeves McKenney had 17 saves for the Big Red.
The winner of Sunday's game will receive the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament.
