Box Score
Ohio Wesleyan 15, Denison 13

Senior attacker Carson Geier (Milford) scored 3 times as Ohio Wesleyan opened the second half with a 4-0 run to break an 8-8 tie and take the lead for good, and the Bishops went on to defeat 14th-ranked Denison in a North Coast Athletic Conference contest on Saturday in Granville.

The win gives Ohio Wesleyan the NCAC championship, the Bishops' second NCAC crown in 3 seasons and Ohio Wesleyan's first outright NCAC title since 2018.  With the win, Ohio Wesleyan will be the No. 1 seed in next week's NCAC tournament and will take on fourth-seeded Oberlin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Selby Stadium.

The Bishops trailed, 8-7, when senior midfielder Joey Wiseman (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) scored with :06 left in the first half to even the game at 8 heading into the intermission.

Geier put the Bishops ahead to stay with a goal at the 13:33 mark of the third quarter, and after a score by sophomore midfielder Henry Ross (Snoqualmie, Wash./Mount Si), it was Geier with back-to-back scores to increase the margin to 12-8 midway through the period.

During the remainder of the third quarter, Denison would score 3 times, but Ohio Wesleyan responded with a goal shortly thereafter on each occasion.  Denison's Kevin Berutich scored at the 3:43 mark only to see Ross counter with 2:33 to go, Liam Gillard scored at 2:04 only to see junior midfielder Garrett Smith (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) respond at 1:16, and Jack Hines scored with :26 to play before Ross answered with a goal at 14:04 of the fourth quarter.

The Big Red closed to within 15-13 as Michael Cassidy and Tommy Quinson scored goals, the latter with 4:56 left in regulation, but that was as close as the hosts would come.

Denison had taken an early 3-1 lead with a 3-0 burst that included 2 goals from Collin Murphy, but the Bishops came back to tie the game at 3 on scores by Wiseman and Ross.  The Big Red led, 6-4, after the first quarter but saw the Bishops reel off 3 straight goals to open the second period, with scores by Wiseman, Geier, and sophomore attacker Wade Beckstrom (Devon, Pa./Conestoga) giving Ohio Wesleyan the lead and setting up the late-second-quarter goal by Wiseman.

Ross led the Bishops with 5 goals and 2 assists, while Geier and Wiseman scored 4 goals apiece.  Senior Nathan George (Gainesville, Va./Battlefield) was credited with 14 saves.

Box Score