2014 NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament

2014 NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Champions: Denison University

Semifinals: Wednesday, April 30	Championship: Saturday, May 3
#1 Wittenberg 19, #4 Wooster 11 - Boxscore	Denison 16, Wittenberg 12 - Boxscore
#3 Denison 14, #2 Allegheny 13 - Boxscore	Denison 16, Wittenberg 12 - Boxscore

All-Tournament Team

Shelby Stone, Wooster
Emily Turnbull, Wooster
Kelly Dickson, Allegheny
Kellee Cribby, Allegheny
Logan Warye, Wittenberg
Francine Murzynski, Wittenberg
Katie Reuter, Wittenberg
Carrie Kubasta, Wittenberg
Claire Ludlow, Denison
Rachel Pregel, Denison
Molly Chapman, Denison
Whitney Powel, Denison

Championship Recap:

Third-seeded Denison (13-4) scored nine unanswered goals to end the game en route to collecting a 16-12 victory over top-seeded Wittenberg (14-3) on in the tournament championship game on Saturday afternoon in Springfield, Ohio. The Big Red have now won eight NCAC Tournament titles all-time and have earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Div. III Tournament, which will mark DU's 16th appearance in the national tournament all-time.

The Big Red found themselves down early, 3-1, but DU answered with three goals in a two-minute span to take a 4-3 lead with 18:00 left in the first half. Following two Wittenberg goals, Denison got back-to-back goals from sophomore Elsie Humes (Greenwood Village, CO/Cherry Creek) to jump back ahead, 6-5, but Wittenberg senior Alie Marousek (Ballson Lake, NY/Portsmouth, NH) found the back of the net with 14 seconds left to send the game into halftime tied at 6-6.

Wittenberg opened the second-half strong with five unanswered goals, including two each from sophomore Carrie Kubasta (Medina, OH/Medina) and senior Logan Warye (Maineville, OH/Kings). The two teams shared a pair of goals in the 22nd minute of the second half to give Wittenberg a 12-7 lead, but the Big Red took over from that point on with nine unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes of action. Freshman Claire Ludlow (Saugatuck, MI/East Grand Rapids) opened the scoring attack with back-to-back goals, while sophomore Carol Allen (Nashville, TN/Ensworth) registered a hat trick in the final 10 minutes.

Ludlow led Denison with four goals, while junior Molly Chapman (Greenwich, CT/Millbrook School) was the points leader in the game with seven on three goals and four assists. Marousek and Warye each had four points for the Tigers, with Warye netting three goals and handing out one assist, and Marousek netting two goals and dishing out two assists.

Defensively, Denison sophomore goalie Laura Van Horn (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) had 10 saves and junior Whitney Powel (Shaker Hts., OH/Westminster School, CT) led the Big Red with nine draw controls and seven groundballs. For Wittenberg, sophomore Katie Reuter (Cleveland, OH/Hathaway Brown) accumulated eight saves, While Marousek led the team with five draw controls and senior Mallory Skrobot (Dublin, OH/Watterson) led the way with five groundballs.

Semifinal Recaps:

Top-seeded Wittenberg (8-0, 14-2) secured a 19-11 semifinal victory over fourth-seeded Wooster (5-3, 5-8) on Thursday night in Springfield, Ohio, and has advanced to the championship game of the NCAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament. Wittenberg junior Logan Warye (Maineville, OH/Kings) netted five first-half goals as the Tigers took a 14-6 lead into the half. Warye added two more goals in the second half to go along with three assists on the night for a game-high 10 points. Wooster was led by senior Eliza Perry (Southport, CT/Proctor Academy) and sophomore Ellie Hudson-Heck (Medina, OH/Medina) as each finished with a team-high four points. Perry registered four goals in her final collegiate game, while Hudson-heck registered a goal and added an assist. Wooster outshot Wittenberg, 32-30, however, the Tigers held advantages in draw controls, 19-13, and groundballs, 20-18. In goal, Wittenberg sophomore Katie Reuter (Cleveland, OH/Hathaway Brown) finished the game with nine saves, while sophomore Isabel Perman (St. Louis, MO/Webster Groves) racked up four total saves between the pipes for Wooster.

Third-seeded Denison (12-4) booked its ticket to the championship game of the 2014 NCAC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament following a thrilling 14-13 victory over second-seeded Allegheny (15-2) on Wednesday evening in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Junior midfielder Whitney Powel (Shaker Hts., OH/Westminster School, CT) proved to be the hero for the Big Red as she took a pass from sophomore Carol Allen (Nashville, TN/Ensworth) and fired it into the back of the net with just 12 seconds left in the game to break a 12-12 tie and propel DU to the victory. Denison held an 8-6 advantage at half and seemed to have the game in control after scoring the first three goals of the second half to take an 11-6 lead with 21:43 left in the game; however, the Gators caught fire and scored the next six goals of the game to pull ahead by one, 12-11, with 4:05 left in the game. Back-to-back DU goals in a span of 46 seconds pushed the Big Red back on top, 13-12, with 1:41 left in the contest, but the Gators answered once again with a goal from sophomore Alyssa Rapelje (Columbus, OH/Gahanna Lincoln) with 43 seconds left in the contest. Following a draw control win by DU junior Erin Keller (Sewickley, PA/Sewickley Acad.), Allen and Powel worked their last-second magic to send the Big Red to the championship game. Denison freshman Claire Ludlow (Saugatuck, MI/East Grand Rapids) led both teams with four goals, while Powel and Allegheny sophomore McKenzie Bell (Akron, OH/Walsh Jesuit) each finished the game with six points. Powel scored two goals and dished out four assists, while Bell netted one goal and handed out five helpers. Defensively, DU sophomore goalie Laura Van Horn (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) finished the game with six saves and junior Melissa Weinsz (North Canton, OH/Green) led the way with five groundballs, while Allegheny freshman Kaelin Clogan (Pittsburgh, PA/Pine Richland) and senior Kellee Cribby (York, ME/York) led the Gators with 11 saves and four groundballs, respectively.

Tournament Notes:

Wittenberg (8-0, 13-2) has claimed the top seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament, which begins with semifinal match-ups on Wednesday. The Tigers entertain fourth-seeded Wooster (5-3, 5-7) at 6:00 PM, while second-seeded Allegheny (7-1, 15-1) welcomes third-seeded Denison (6-2, 11-4), at 6:00 PM. The championship game will be held on Saturday afternoon at 5:00 PM 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 Div. III Tournament.

Denison leads the way with 17 NCAC titles all-time (1985-1994, '96, 1999-'01, '06, '11-'12), followed by Wooster with six (2002-04, '07, '09, '10), Oberlin with three (1995, '97-'98), Ohio Wesleyan with two ('05, '08) and Kenyon with one (2013).