2022 NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament

2022 NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Champions: Kenyon College

Semifinals: Wednesday, May 4	Championship: Saturday, May 7
#1 Kenyon 20, #4 Wooster 8 - Boxscore	#1 Kenyon 12, #2 Denison 10 - Boxscore
#2 Denison 15, #3 DePauw 10 - Boxscore	#1 Kenyon 12, #2 Denison 10 - Boxscore

The Kenyon Ladies won the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament title, 12-10, over Denison on Saturday, May 7. The tournament title is Kenyon's second overall and first since 2013. As conference champions, the Ladies have earned the league's automatic bid into the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament. The NCAA Division III selection show will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 9, on NCAA.com.

Denison began the championship match with two goals in the first period from senior Casey McTague (Arlington, VA/Stone Ridge), as she netted a goal just 48 seconds in and at the 5:55 mark. Big Red sophomore Josie Lucchesi (Villanova, PA/Radnor) would score two and a half minutes into the second period, while freshman Anna Devuono (Devon, PA/Conestoga) would set up sophomore Ashley Viglione (Ashburn, VA/St. John's College) for Denison's fourth goal of the game four minutes later. Kenyon would finally get on the board at the 2:48 mark thanks to a goal by junior Caroline O'Neil (Ponte Vedra, FL/Ponte Vedra) and would enter the half down 4-1.

The third quarter would see McTague net her third goal of the game at the 12:15 mark, giving Denison the 5-1 lead. Kenyon would then net back-to-back goals within 53 seconds of each other thanks to sophomore Maddie Garner (Vienna, VA/James Madison) and junior Emma Hutchison (Arlington, VA/Yorktown), which cut the Ladies deficit to 5-3. With 8:04 remaining in the third, Kenyon freshman Mallory Brophy (Bloomfield Hills, MI/Cranbrook Kingswood School) would find the back of the net, making it a one-goal game, 5-4, while junior Ella Murphy (Darien, CT/Greens Farms Academy) would tie the game for the Ladies at the 5:38 mark. Kenyon would continue an offensive push with three more unanswered goals thanks to the sticks of O'Neil, Brophy and Hutchison, ending the third period with the Ladies up 8-5. Denison would start the final period with three unanswered goals to tie the game at 8-8, seeing two goals from sophomore Maddie Morrell (Columbus, OH/Pickerington Central) and another score from McTague thanks to a feed from Jane Lukens (Westport, CT/Staples). Kenyon would take the advantage at 8:02 thanks to Brophy who netted her third goal of the game and then followed with her fourth score 40 seconds later for the 10-8 edge at the 7:23 mark. Denison would make it a one-goal game thanks to sophomore Ana Ortiz DeRosa (Lexington, MA/Lexington) who scored with 4:25 remaining. Kenyon's Murphy would answer with her second goal of the game, while Brophy would net her fifth goal to give Kenyon the 12-9 edge. With two seconds left in the game, Denison's McTague would bring the Big Red within two, 12-10, as she scored her fifth goal of the match before time expired.

Kenyon outshot Denison 32-23 and held the advantage in ground balls 15-11, while the Big Red had the slight edge in caused turnovers, 2-1. Between the posts, Kenyon freshman Nola Garand (Southborough, MA/Algonquin Regional) made nine saves for the win, while Denison junior Caroline O'Dea (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) made eight saves.

Kenyon's Brophy was named the tournament MVP, joining four of her teammates on the all-tournament team in Murphy, Garand, O'Neil and sophomore Alex Tiatia (Deerfield, IL/Deerfield). Denison had four on the all-tournament team, including McTague, O'Dea, Viglione and senior Isabelle Brocato (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes).

2022 NCAC Women's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Lydia Hollis, DePauw
Emma Kennedy, DePauw
Ciara O'Connor, Wooster
Syd Schuster, Wooster
Casey McTague, Denison
Ashley Viglione, Denison
Isabelle Brocato, Denison
Caroline O'Dea, Denison
Ella Murphy, Kenyon
Alex Tiatia, Kenyon
Caroline O'Neil, Kenyon
Nola Garand, Kenyon
MVP: Mallory Brophy, Kenyon

SEMIFINALS:

The top seeds held in the semifinal round of the 2022 NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament, setting up a meeting in the championship game between top-seeded Kenyon (14-1) and second-seeded Denison (11-5). This year's tournament title game will be played on Saturday, May 7, at Kenyon's Field at Benson Bowl. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start time.

The Ladies had their offense working early, scoring the game's first five goals, including a pair from junior Caroline O'Neil (Ponte Verde, FL/Ponte Verda). Wooster senior Caitlyn O'Conner (Massapequa Park, NY/Massapequa) broke through for the Fighting Scots first goal with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter. Kenyon continued to have offensive success in the second quarter, outscoring the Fighting Scots 8-4 in the period and leading 14-6 at halftime. Ladies' junior Emma Hutchinson (Arlington, VA/Yorktown) tallied the first goal of the second half, kick-starting a four-goal third quarter and stretching the lead to 18-6. Wooster senior Syd Schuster (Ann Arbor, MI/Skyline) began the fourth quarter with a goal, registering her team-high third of the contest. Kenyon and Wooster each tallied a pair of goals in the final period, as the Ladies secured a 20-8 victory. Junior Ella Murphy (Darien, CT/Greens Farms Academy) led the Ladies in scoring with five goals, while O'Neil added four tallies.

In the other semifinal contest, the DePauw Tigers were the first to score after Marley Heitman (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) found the back of the cage just a minute into regulation. Big Red sophomore Josie Lucchesi (Villanova, PA/Radnor) tied the game up with 12:36 remaining in the quarter and kick-started a 7-1 run for Denison which had the home team leading 7-2 at the first intermission. Tiger sophomore Emily Napier (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central) registered the first goal of the second period, a quarter that saw DePauw outscore Denison by a 4-3 margin and pull within 10-6 at halftime. The Big Red defense came out strong in the second half, shutting out the Tigers in the period while the Denison offense manufactured four goals of the sticks of Maddie Morrell (Columbus, OH/Pickerington Central), Ashley Viglione (Ashburn, VA/St. John's College), Casey McTague (Arlington, VA/Stone Ridge) and Jane Lukens (Westport, CT/Staples). DePauw attempted to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Big Red by a 4-1 margin but ultimately fell, 15-10. Viglione led the Big Red in scoring with three goals, while Emma Kennedy (Indianapolis, IN/Bishop Chatard) paced the Tigers with five goals.

SEEDINGS/PAIRINGS:

After claiming their second NCAC Women's Lacrosse Championship, the Kenyon Ladies have earned the top seed in the 2022 NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament, which begins with semifinal matchups on Wednesday, May 4.

In the semifinal round on Wednesday, Kenyon (7-0) will entertain fourth-seeded Wooster (4-3) at 1:00 p.m., while second-seeded Denison (6-1) will host third-seeded DePauw (3-2) at 4:00 p.m. In regular season play, the Ladies topped the Fighting Scots 15-6, while the Big Red notched a 17-7 victory over the Tigers.

The championship game is slated for Saturday, May 7, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round. The tournament winner receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament.

Denison leads the way with 22 NCAC Championship titles (1985-94, '96, 1999-01, '06, '11, '12, 2016-19, '21), followed by Wooster with six (2002-04, '07, '09, '10), Oberlin with three (1995, '97, '98), and Kenyon (2013, '22), Ohio Wesleyan (2005, '08) and Wittenberg (2014, '15) with two each.