GAMBIER, OH – Third-seeded Denison claimed its fourth North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament title with a 3-1 victory over top-seeded Kenyon in the tournament finale on Saturday, Nov. 4, in Gambier, Ohio.
As tournament champions, the Big Red earned the NCAC's automatic bid into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer tournament. Denison is making its 11th overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. The entire 64-team field will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 6, at 2:00 p.m. on NCAA.com via the selection show.
Kenyon started the match with the pressure on, taking the first four shots and earning the first two corner kicks of the game. However, Denison would get on the board first with a goal in the 17th minute thanks to Cameron McIntosh (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington) finding the back of the net off a pass from Kameron Kist (New Albany, OH/New Albany). Over the next ten minutes, the Owls’ offense would get two more shots off, but were unable to find the equalizer. Denison would add an insurance goal from Jack Rice (Lake Bluff, IL/Lake Forest) at the 37:15 mark. Two minutes later, Kenyon would answer with a goal of its own, after Max Thesing (Westerville, OH/Wellington) fed a pass to Atli Hrafnkelsson (Hafnarfjorour, Iceland/Verzlunarskoli Islands), who found the back of the net at 39:38. Denison would take a 2-1 advantage into the half.
Just five and a half minutes into the second frame, the Big Red would extend their lead with a goal from Corey Brunner (Colleyeville, PA/Malvern Prep) for the 3-1 advantage. The Denison defense would hold on tight for the win, as Kenyon took another six shots and earned four more corners before time expired.
The Kenyon offense outshot Denison 15-3, connecting five of their shots on goal, while Denison’s three shots all ended in scores for the Big Red. Denison goalkeeper Tommy Prokos (Park Ridge, IL/Maine South) made four saves in the win, while Kenyon’s Jack Pedreschi (Shirley, MA/Groton School) took the loss in net for the Owls.
The NCAC All-Tournament team was also revealed at the conclusion of the tournament. Twelve members from Denison, DePauw, Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan made up the squad. Denison’s Kist was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
All-Tournament Team
Quinn Flaspohler, DePauw
Ethan Webster, DePauw
Jaggar Brooker, Ohio Wesleyan
Rowan Kriebel, Ohio Wesleyan
Eamon Dujakovich, Kenyon
Matt Nguyen, Kenyon
Aidan Burns, Kenyon
Chris Giglio, Denison
Jake Krueger, Denison
Cameron McIntosh, Denison
Tommy Prokos, Denison
Kameron Kist, Denison (Tournament MVP)