CLEVELAND, OH - The home teams claimed the semifinal round of the 2024 NCAC Field Hockey Tournament as No. 1 Ohio Wesleyan prevailed 4-0 over No. 4 DePauw and No. 2 Denison earned a 1-0 victory against No. 3 Wittenberg in overtime. The Battling Bishops will host the Big Red in Saturday's tournament championship game at 12:00 p.m. in Delaware, Ohio.
#2 DENISON (11-6) 1, #3 WITTENBERG (11-3) 0 (OT)
- No. 2 Denison defeated No. 3 Wittenberg 1-0 in overtime after a scoreless 60 minutes of action.
- In the first quarter, the Big Red defense held the Tigers without a shot while Wittenberg allowed Denison to get only one shot off.
- Wittenberg picked up the pace during the second quarter, outshooting the Big Red 3-2.
- After halftime, the Denison offense came out strong with nine shots while earning seven penalty corners. Defensively, the Big Red halted the Tigers' efforts after holding them to just two shots and two corner attempts in the final 30 minutes of regulation.
- Despite Denison's offensive push, Wittenberg senior goalkeeper Caitlin Archdeacon (Saratoga, CA/Westmont) kept the Tigers in the game making six saves with five coming during the second half.
- At the 2:22 mark of overtime, Denison sophomore Tabitha Chandler (Washington, DC/National Cathedral School) found the back of the goal off an assist from junior Rachel Gilio (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) to secure the win and advance to the 2024 NCAC Field Hockey Tournament final match.
#1 OHIO WESLEYAN (16-4) 4, #4 DEPAUW (11-7) 0
- No. 1 Ohio Wesleyan defeated No. 4 DePauw 4-0 to advance to the NCAC tournament championship final.
- After a scoreless first quarter, OWU junior Avery Slucher (Louisville, KY/Christian Academy of Louisville) put the Battling Bishops on the board as she found the back of the cage in the 20th minute of action off an assist from senior Zoe Nelson (Frederick, MD/Urbana).
- OWU held DePauw to just one shot during the first half.
- After the break, Ohio Wesleyan turned up the offensive pressure, firing three shots and connecting on two of them. Sophomore Grace Ammon (Southborough, MA/Algonquin Regional) and senior Colleen McMenamin (Chester, NJ/West Morris Regional) were the goal scorers in the third quarter to extend OWU's lead to 3-0.
- DePauw junior Hailey Nowak (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park & River Forest) was able to put one shot on frame in the 40th minute of play.
- The Bishops' final score came during the 47th minute of play as Nelson would score for the second time in the contest.