2022 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament
The Denison Big Red captured the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Lacrosse Tournament Title on Saturday, May 7, with a 12-5 victory over Kenyon. The championship is the seventh for the Big Red, as they have won seven of the nine titles since the tournament began in 2013. As conference champions, Denison has earned the league's automatic bid into the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament. The NCAA Division III selection show will be held at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, on NCAA.com.
Denison began the title match with a goal from sophomore Jack Chace (North Andover, MA/North Andover) at the 9:43 mark. Kenyon would respond with a goal a little over a minute later thanks to freshman Rollins Heath (Montclair, NJ/Montclair Kimberley Academy) finding the back of the cage. Heath would net another goal at the 5:15 mark, while senior Mike Matteo (South Glastonbury, CT/Loomis Chaffee School) would set up classmate Joe Bolea (Grand Rapids, MI/East Grand Rapids) for Kenyon's third goal with four minutes remaining in the first. Denison would answer back five minutes into the second period thanks to a goal from junior Quinn O'Donnell (Atlanta, GA/The Lovett School) to cut the deficit to 3-2. Kenyon senior Declan Curry (Barrington, RI/Barrington) extended the Lords lead to 4-2 at the 4:30 mark, before Denison junior Will Kenney (Hingham, MA/Hingham) would answer back less than a minute later thanks to an assist from classmate Gavin Pappas (Garden City, NY/Garden City), making it a one-goal game, 4-3. Junior Ethan Tyack (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) would then tie the game for the Big Red with 1:27 remaining, while Bolea would feed junior Jack Giuffre (Louisville, KY/Louisville Collegiate School) for a goal with 17 seconds remaining to give Kenyon a 5-4 lead heading into the half.
The third quarter would see Denison's Tyack feed O'Donnell for the game-tying goal at the 10:10 mark, while senior Camden Bowdy (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) and sophomore Luke Fisher (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes) would give the Big Red a 7-5 lead going into the final 15 minutes of action. Denison would go on a five-goal run in the first 10 minutes of the fourth period thanks to freshman Jack Hines (Charlotte, NC/Episcopal), Chace, freshman Tommy Quinson (Rye Brook, NY/Brunswick School), Bowdy and Fisher, which gave the Big Red the 12-5 victory.
Denison outshot Kenyon 38-25 and held the advantage in ground balls 34-20, while the Lords had the 7-4 edge in caused turnovers. Between the posts, Denison junior Archer Darrach (Radnor, PA/Radnor) made 11 saves for the win, while Kenyon senior Mayo Amorello (Wenham, MA/Hamilton-Wenham) also tallied 11 saves.
Denison's Darrach was named the tournament MVP, joining four of his teammates on the all-tournament team in Bowdy, Tyack, senior Davis Cronin (South Boston, MA/Hebron Academy) and sophomore Owen O'Neill (Hightstown, NJ/Peddie School). Kenyon had four on the all-tournament team, including Amorello, Bolea, Giuffre and senior Kern Byrnes (Danbury, CT/Wooster School).
2022 NCAC Men's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Michael Mulddon, Oberlin
Kiernan Stone, Obelrin
Connor McGeeney, Ohio Wesleyan
Mac School, Ohio Wesleyan
Mayo Amorello, Kenyon
Joe Bolea, Kenyon
Kern Byrnes, Kenyon
Jack Giuffre, Kenyon
Camden Bowdy, Denison
Ethan Tyack, Denison
Davis Cronin, Denison
Owen O'Neill, Denison
MVP: Archer Darrach, Denison
SEMIFINALS
The top seeds held in the semifinal round of the 2022 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament, setting up a meeting in the championship game between top-seeded Denison (14-4) and second-seeded Kenyon (14-3). This year's tournament title game will be played on Saturday, May 7, at Denison's at Piper Stadium. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start time.
In the first semifinal game, No. 2-seeded Kenyon captured a 12-6 victory over No. 3-seeded Ohio Wesleyan. The Kenyon Lords opened the game with a goal by senior Matt Pollack (Denver, CO/Colorado Academy) at the 11:17 mark of the opening period. The Lords added four additional goals in the opening quarter to take a 5-0 lead to the first break. Ohio Wesleyan finally broke through at the 2:56 mark of the second quarter after senior Henry Hasenberg (Los Angeles, CA/Loyola) snuck one past the Lord's defense. Kenyon's Pollack added another goal before the end of the quarter as Kenyon held a 7-1 advantage at halftime. The two teams traded goals in the third quarter as each team netted a pair of goals. Down 12-3, Ohio Wesleyan tried to mount a late-stage comeback. Senior Conor McGeeney (Loveland, OH/Archbishop Moeller) tallied a pair of goal with 4:04 remaining which began a 3-0 run but the Battling Bishops couldn't complete the comeback. McGeeney and Hasenberg tied for a team-high two goals, while Kenyon was paced by Pollack's three goals.
Top-seeded Denison would claim a 19-9 victory over fourth-seeded Oberlin in the second semifinal game. The Big Red opened the game with back-to-back goals by junior Ethan Tyack (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman), before Oberlin senior Michael Muldoon (Ridgewood, NJ/Ridgewood) got the Yeomen on the scoreboard. After leading 5-2 after the first 15 minutes of play, the Big Red continued to have offensive success in the second quarter. Tyack tallied his third goal of the game with 13:39 remaining in the second quarter after taking a Luke Fisher (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes) pass and lining it past the Yeomen defense. Fisher tallied a goal of his own at the 10:19 mark as Denison carried a 9-4 advantage into halftime. The Big Red outscored Oberlin 7-1 in the third quarter before the Yeomen held a 4-3 edge in the final period. Tyack and senior Camden Bowdy (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) led Denison with four goals apiece, while Muldoon tallied three goals for the Yeomen.
SEEDINGS/PAIRINGS:
After winning its 20th NCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship, Denison has earned the top seed in the 2022 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament, which begins with semifinal matchups on Wednesday, May 4.
In the semifinals on Wednesday, the Big Red (9-0) will entertain fourth-seeded Oberlin (6-3) at 7:00 p.m., while second-seeded Kenyon (8-1) welcomes third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (7-2) for a 4:00 p.m. matchup. In the first meeting between Denison and the Yeomen this year, the Big Red earned a 16-9 win over Oberlin. To end conference play for both teams this season, the Lords claimed a one-goal victory, 11-10, over the Battling Bishops.
The championship game is tentatively set for Saturday, May 7, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round. Should Ohio Wesleyan advance to the championship, the game will be played on Sunday, May 8 at 1:00 p.m. due to graduation. The tournament winner receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
Denison and Ohio Wesleyan are now tied for the league lead with 20 NCAC Championship titles apiece, as the Big Red captured the first two titles in 1985 and '86 and then in '94, '97, '99, '00, '02, '04, '06, '08, '09, 2011-14, '16, '17, '19, '21, '22, while the Battling Bishops captured titles in 1987-93, '95, '96, '98, '00, '01, 2003-05, '07, '10, '11, '15, '18. Wittenberg has claimed two titles (2010, '11) and Kenyon (2000) and Wooster (2004) each have one title.