The No. 15-ranked Denison Men's Lacrosse team captured the 2021 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship on Saturday, May 8, with a 12-10 victory over Kenyon. The championship is the 19th for the Big Red who have also captured eight of the last 10 conference titles.
Denison jumped out of the gate, opening the game with three goals off the sticks of senior Ian Crosby (Yarmouth, MA/Deerfield Academy), junior Camden Bowdy (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman), and freshman Luke Fisher (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephens & St. Agnes). Kenyon rallied with three consecutive goals off their own, tying the contest at three after a Declan Curry (Barrington, RI/Barrington) score at the 2:12 mark of the first quarter. The game was tied at four in the second quarter before Denison tallied a trio of goals to go to the locker room with a 7-4 advantage. The third period saw the Big Red extend its lead, outscoring the Lords, 4-2, aided by two Ethan Tyack (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) goals. Facing an 11-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter, Kenyon tried to begin a comeback, as Lords' sophomore Joe Boesel (Toledo, OH/Ottawa Hills) found the net with 12:00 remaining. The Lords would outscore the Big Red, 4-1, in the final 12 minutes but couldn't complete the comeback as Denison secured a 12-10 victory.
Denison junior Sean Bailey (Berwyn, PA/Conestoga) was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship game. He finished the day with three ground balls and was part of a defense that held the Lords to a season-low 10 goals.
As NCAC champions, Denison has earned the league's automatic bid into the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship. The NCAA Division III bracket will be revealed on Sunday, May 9 at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com.
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Denison, Kenyon set for NCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship
The Kenyon and Denison men's lacrosse teams have earned the top seeds from the East and West Divisions, respectively. As the top seeds of each division, the Lords and Big Red advance to the 2021 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship game.
Kenyon arrives at the conference title game after compiling a perfect 4-0 East record, while Denison earned the No. 1 seed in the West with a 5-1 divisional record. The Big Red won the predetermined tiebreaker over Ohio Wesleyan, as both teams had identical records in West divisional play. The Lords will make their championship game debut, while the Big Red have competed in every championship final since the NCAC began conducting a postseason event in 2013.
The championship game will be hosted by Denison and is tentatively set for Saturday, May 8 at 1:00 p.m. The winner of the championship will earn the conference's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
Ohio Wesleyan leads the way with 20 NCAC Championship titles (1987-93, '95, '96, '98, '00, '01, 2003-05, '07, '10, '11, '15, '18), followed by Denison with 18 (1985, '86, '94, '97, '99, '00, '02, '04, '06, '08, '09, 2011-14, '16, '17, '19), Wittenberg with two (2010, '11) and Kenyon (2000) and Wooster (2004) with one title each.
Spectator Policy
All NCAC championship events will be conducted using the respective campus visitors' policies; at this time, visiting team spectators are not permitted at any NCAC campus. Masking and social distancing policies are also in effect. Failure to comply with protocols will result in removal from campus.
Note: Conference policy will determine the championship field if team availability changes due to COVID 19 protocols prior to the championship game.
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2021 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship Format
The top seeds from the East and West Divisions will advance to a championship game, which will be hosted by the West Divisional top seed, unless the two schools agree to a change to accommodate facility or campus situations.
Spectators will be permitted according to the host institution's campus visitors' policy.
The winner of the championship will also earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
2021 NCAC Divisions:
East – Allegheny, Hiram, Kenyon, Wooster
West – Denison, DePauw, Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg