Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 1, Denison 0
Senior midfielder Megan Knee (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) converted the deciding shootout attempt to give Ohio Wesleyan a North Coast Athletic Conference win over Denison in a battle of conference unbeatens on Wednesday at Selby Stadium.
With the win, Ohio Wesleyan clinches at least a share of the NCAC championship, the Battling Bishops' first conference title since 2019, when Ohio Wesleyan was part of a 3-way tie for the NCAC championship. The win also gives the Bishops the No. 1 seed in next week's NCAC tournament. It also is Ohio Wesleyan's 15th consecutive victory, breaking the mark set by the 1989 squad, and is the Bishops' 12th consecutive shutout, breaking the school standard set last season.
After 80 minutes of scoreless play, it came down to a shootout to determine a winner. Denison's Tabitha Chandler and sophomore forward Olivia Danley (Del Rio, Texas/Independence (Va.)) opened the shootout by scoring on their attempts, but each team would miss its next 5 tries as both goalkeepers made some outstanding plays. Junior Meg McCarthy (Trumbull, Conn.) stopped 2 shots on attempts by Denison's Lila Smith and Cary Mauck, while Denison keeper Athena Joannou recovered to make saves on shots by freshman midfielder Grace Ammon (Southborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) and sophomore midfielder Alyssa Markell (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County).
With the score still tied at 1, Chandler stepped up for Denison's seventh attempt and scored, but Ammon responded with a shot over Joannou to keep the shootout going. McCarthy folowed with a save on a try by Denison's Rachel Gilio, and Knee converted the subsequent attempt to give the win to the Bishops.
The teams had battled to a scoreless tie through regulation time. Ohio Wesleyan enjoyed a 12-0 edge in shots during the first 60 minutes, but the Denison defense did not allow a shot to reach Joannou until the 57th minute, when the Big Red netminder stopped a shot by senior forward Allie Crawford (West Hartford, Conn./Hall).
Danley had a pair of looks at the game-winner after a penalty corner during the first overtime period, but her shot in the 62nd minute was stopped by Joannou, and a follow shot was stopped by Gillo near the left post.
McCarthy kept the game going with a save of a Lila Smith shot midway through the second overtime period, setting up the shootout.
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Denison, 16-2. McCarthy had 1 save in the Bishop cage.
Box Score
