Box Score
Denison 2, Ohio Wesleyan 0
Fourth-seeded Denison tallied a pair of first-half goals and went on to defeat third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament championship game on Saturday at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.
Playing the first half with a 20-mile-per-hour wind at their backs, the Big Red attacked the Bishop goal, earning a corner kick just over a minute into the game and another one in the sixth minute.
The visitors took the lead in the 11th minute. After a Denison throw-in, a Bishop defender headed the ball out of the penalty area. Denison's Ellie Reiser tapped the ball back to Avery Butler, who looped a 22-yard shot into the top left corner.
Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Ryan (Beavercreek/Dayton Carroll) kept Ohio Wesleyan close with saves on shots by Dulcie Hayes in the 22nd minute and Katie Harding in the 29th minute, then stopped shots by Butler in the 38th minute and Caroline Flynn in the 39th minute.
The Big Red added to the lead in the 41st minute. A shot by Maddie Reap was blocked by the Bishop defense, and the ball caromed backward to Callie Davis, who eluded a Bishop tackle and then fired a 25-yard shot inside the right post.
Ohio Wesleyan had the wind in the second half, and the Bishops got a corner kick in the early going, but a header by sophomore defender Kaylee DeShong (Canal Winchester) was stopped by Big Red keeper Wynne Hague. Bishop corner kicks later in the half also led to shots, but the Denison defense blocked 2 shots before they could get to Hague.
Hague protected the lead later on, tracking down a long shot by freshman midfielder Paige Neal (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual) in the 78th minute, then batting away a shot by freshman midfielder Emma Weber (Cincinnati/Walnut Hills) near the left post in the 81st minute.
Denison outshot Ohio Wesleyan, 20-11. Ryan finished with 5 saves in the Bishop goal.
Sophomore midfielder Ryan O'Neill (Cincinnati/Maineville Little Miami), sophomore defender Madison Cofer (New Albany), and junior forward Ali Claus (Milford) represented the Bishops on the all-tournament team.
Box Score
