2021 NCAC Field Hockey Tournament Champions
Ohio Wesleyan
| Semifinal Games |
Championship Game |
| Tuesday, November 2 |
Saturday, November 6 |
|
#4 Ohio Wesleyan 1, #1 Kenyon 0 {Boxscore}
#3 Denison 2, #2 Earlham 1 (2OT) {Boxscore}
|
#4 Ohio Wesleyan 2, #3 Denison 1 (OT), {Boxscore} |
| Tournament Merchandise -- History -- Tournament Stats -- Championship Photos -- Tickets -- Directions |
Ohio Wesleyan (10-5) claimed its first North Coast Athletic Conference tournament title on Saturday, Nov. 6, with a 2-1 overtime victory at Denison (10-8) in Granville, Ohio.
The Battling Bishops were first on the scoreboard after senior Astrid Koek (Maastricht, The Netherlands/Erasmus) connected on a shot from the top of the box in the 11th minute of action. Denison freshman Kristin Kelley (Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek) tied the game at one goal apiece after she scored in the final minutes of the second quarter. The game would remain deadlocked until overtime when Battling Bishops sophomore Allie Crawford (West Hartford, CT/Hall) found the back of the cage for the game-winner.
Ohio Wesleyan outshot Denison by a 13-5 margin in the game while also holding a 9-6 advantage in penalty corners. Battling Bishop freshman goalie Meg McCarthy (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) allowed just one goal and collected three saves in the win. Denison senior goalie Maren Kraak (Haaksbergen, Netherlands/Het Stedelijk Lyceum) also made three saves and allowed just two goals.
Ohio Wesleyan will represent the NCAC in the 2021 NCAA Division III Tournament, earning the conference's automatic berth with the win. The NCAA Division III selections will be released Sunday, Nov. 7.
All-Tournament Team
Olivia Layne, Earlham
Meg Muhy, Earlham
Sara Metzmaier, Kenyon
Lydia Turk, Kenyon
Maren Kraak, Denison
AC Veith, Denison
Abigail Hano, Denison
Zoe Nelson, OWU
Allie Crawford, OWU
Veronica Hardman, OWU
MVP: Astrid Koek, OWU
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SEMIFINALS
The visiting teams claimed the semifinal round of the 2021 NCAC Field Hockey Tournament as No. 4-seeded Ohio Wesleyan upset No. 1-seeded Kenyon, 1-0, while No. 3-seeded Denison advanced to the championship game with a 2-1 shootout victory over No. 2-seeded Earlham. The Big Red will host the Battling Bishops in Saturday's championship game at 2:00 p.m.
Ohio Wesleyan booked its ticket to the championship game for the first time since 2009. This is the first time in the history of the NCAC tournament that a No. 4 seed has advanced into the championship game. Sophomore Allie Crawford (West Hartford, CT/Hall) had the lone two shots for the Battling Bishops, one on goal in the first period and then the game-winner midway through the second period. Ohio Wesleyan freshman Zoë Nelson (Frederick, MD/Urbana) earned the first assist of her career on the game-winner. The Kenyon offense would tally at least one shot in each period, including five in the final period of play. Senior Sarah Metzmaier (Gibsonia, PA/Pine-Richland) led the Ladies with three shots, two on goal, while junior teammate Bella Kern (Louisville, KY/Kentucky County Day School) tallied two shots in the game. Kenyon outshot Ohio Wesleyan 10-2, while freshman goalkeeper Meg McCarthy (Trumbull, CT/Trumbull) made six saves in the win and junior Payton Doan (Gregory, MI/Chelsea) was credited with one save in the cage for the Ladies.
Denison advanced to the championship finale for the fourth-straight season thanks to the sticks of senior AC Veith (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School), junior Madeleine Hunt (Denver, CO/Kent Denver) and sophomore Abigail Hano (Winston-Salem, NC/The Taft School). Earlham would get on the board first, as the Quakers scored a goal 11 minutes into the first period off of the stick of junior Guin Schalck (Medina, NY/Medina). After a scoreless second period, Denison's Veith would find the back of the cage six minutes into the third period. Neither team would score through regulation and twenty minutes of overtime. In the shootout, Earlham's Schalck converted the first shot attempt to lift the Quakers up, 1-0. Hunt responded with a goal for the Big Red, making the shootout even at 1-1. Five more players would take unsuccessful shot attempts until Hano found the back of the cage for Denison, to go up 2-1. Big Red senior keeper Maren Kraak (Haaksbergen, Netherlands/Het Stedelijk Lyceum) stopped Earlham's final attempt and secured the shootout victory. Kraak made four saves in goal for Denison, while senior Meg Murphy (Chico, CA/Chico Senior) made five saves for the Quakers.
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SEEDINGS & PAIRINGS
Kenyon captured its sixth North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey title after finishing the regular season with a 7-1 record against conference opponents. Denison leads all field hockey squads with 12 titles all-time. Wittenberg is second with 10 league titles, while Ohio Wesleyan is third with nine, Wooster is fourth with eight, followed by DePauw (4) and Oberlin (2).
Earlham and Denison (6-2) finished second in the regular season standings, followed by Ohio Wesleyan (5-3), Wittenberg (4-4), Wooster and DePauw (3-5), Allegheny (2-6) and Oberlin (0-8).
The top-seeded Ladies will host the fourth-seeded Battling Bishops in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 3:00 p.m. Kenyon earned a 1-0 victory on the road at Ohio Wesleyan in a non-conference matchup early in the season before earning another 1-0 victory at home in their conference meeting. In the other semifinal game on Tuesday, also at 3:00 p.m., the second-seeded Quakers will host the third-seeded Big Red. Earlham claimed a 1-0 win over Denison during the regular season, a game that was decided in a shootout after 80 minutes of scoreless action.
The championship match is set for Saturday, Nov. 6, at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round.
TOURNEY NOTES: The tournament winner receives the NCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament ... Kenyon, looking for its fifth title in program history, is appearing in the tournament for the eighth-straight time and 13th time overall ... Earlham enters the NCAC postseason for the first time since joining the NCAC in 1989 ... Denison is making its 12th-straight appearance, 16th overall, and will look to claim the league lead by earning a fifth tournament title ... Ohio Wesleyan is making its second-consecutive appearance, fifth overall, and will look for its first NCAC title … Kenyon and Denison lead all programs with four tournament titles apiece followed by DePauw, Wooster and Wittenberg all with three, while Oberlin has claimed one NCAC tourney title ... Denison made its way through the tournament bracket to claim the NCAC tournament title in 2019 by knocking off No. 4 DePauw, 2-0, in the semifinals and No. 3 Kenyon, 2-1, in the championship.