2013 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament

2013 NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament Champions: Ohio Wesleyan University

Semifinals: Tuesday, April 23	Championship: Saturday, April 27
#1 Denison 8, #4 Kenyon 2 -- Boxscore	Ohio Wesleyan 10, Denison 9 -- Boxscore
#2 Ohio Wesleyan 13, #3 Wooster 9 -- Boxscore

Championship Recap:

Second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (13-5) claimed the inaugural NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament with an 10-9 victory over top-seeded Denison (13-3) on Saturday evening in Granville. Battling Bishop junior attacker Casey Helms (Sandwich, MA/Bridgton Academy) scored what proved to be the deciding goal and sophomore goalkeeper Ryan McMahon (Springfield, VA/The Bullis School) made a crucial save during the final minute of regulation time to help OWU edge the 13th-ranked Big Red for the first time since the 2007 season, snapping a string of eight straight losses. The win gives Ohio Wesleyan the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III tournament. Denison may also be considered for an at-large berth. Sophomore attacker John Umbach (Montclair, NJ/Montclair), senior midfielder Pat Bassett (Naperville, IL/North) and freshman midfielder Tate Rolland (Brunswick, MD/Brunswick) scored twice for OWU, while senior attacker Colin Short (Jamesville, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) collected a goal and 3 assists. McMahon finished with 17 saves against 45 shots by the Big Red. Sophomore attacker Nick Caravana (Granville, OH/Granville) scored twice to lead Denison, while Chris Thomas (Cockeysville, MD/Loyola Blakefield) made seven saves.

Semifinal Recaps:

Top-seeded Denison (7-0, 13-2) opened the inaugural NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament with an 8-2 semifinal victory over Kenyon (4-3, 8-8) on Tuesday evening in Granville to advance to the championship game. The Big Red and Lords were locked in a defensive struggle for must of the first quarter, but KC finally lit up the scoreboard with just one second left on the first-quarter clock on a goal from sophomore Fritz Waine (Riverside, CT/Greenwich). The Big Red's offense came to life in the second quarter as they outscored the Lords, 4-1, including back-to-back goals from freshman Blair Farinholt (Richmond, VA/St. Christopher's School) to close out the frame and give DU a 4-2 lead at intermission. The Denison defensive unit bowed its neck in the second half as they blanked the Lords, while the offense sealed the victory with three goals in the third quarter and one more in the fourth to secure the 8-2 victory. The Big Red owned a 41-19 shot advantage in the contest and also secured 28 groundballs to Kenyon's 18. Farinholt and sophomore Will Koontz (Cranberry Twp., PA/Seneca Valley) each tallied two goals for the Big Red, while freshman net-minder Chris Thomas (Cockeysville, MD/Loyola Blakefield) secured four saves in goal. Waine was Kenyon's lone scorer on the night, while freshman Patrick Shevelson (Pleasanton, CA/Foothill) hauled in 18 saves for the Lords.

Ohio Wesleyan (6-1, 12-5), the second seed in the tournament, secured a 13-9 semifinal victory over third-seeded Wooster (4-3, 9-6) on Tuesday night in Selby Stadium and has advanced to the championship game of the inaugural NCAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament. OWU junior Casey Helms (Sandwich, MA/Bridgton Acad.) netted the first goal of the contest at the 12:04 mark of the first quarter to put the Battling Bishops on the board first; however, the Fighting Scots answered by scoring three of the games' next four goals and held a slight 3-2 advantage with 4:20 left in the opening period. The Bishops quickly responded by rattling off four of the next five goals in the first half to take a 6-4 lead into the locker room. The Bishops and Scots each netted three goals a piece in the third frame to give OWU a narrow 9-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Bishops opened the fourth quarter strong with three-straight goals, including back-to-back scores from Helms at the 7:51 and 7:10 mark, respectively, to put OWU up 12-7. Wooster did pull within three, 12-9, with back-to-back goals late in the fourth quarter; however, OWU sophomore John Umbrach (Montclair, NJ/Montclair) sealed the contest with a goal in the final three minutes. Helms lead the Bishops on the evening with three goals, while sophomore Ryan McMahon (Springfield, VA/The Bullis School) corralled eight saves in goal for OWU. Senior Matt Ranck (Union Lake, MI/Walled Lake) and freshman Harry Kemp (Hopewell, NJ/The Gunnery, CT) each netted two goals a piece for the Fighting Scots, while junior Matt Magoon (Plymouth, MA/Dexter School) held his own in the cage by securing 10 saves.

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Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament ... 2013 marks the inaugural NCAC men's lacrosse tournament.

Denison (7-0, 12-2) earned its second-straight North Coast championship with a pair of wins last week. The Big Red defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 11-8, and Hiram, 27-0, to collect their 14th conference title. Ohio Wesleyan has won the most conference crowns with 18, Wittenberg has two, while Wooster and Kenyon each boast one championship.

The Big Red enter the inaugural NCAC Tournament as the top seed and will host fourth-seeded Kenyon (4-3, 8-7) on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. in a re-match of the April 10th contest that saw Denison come away with a 6-3 road victory. Second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (6-1, 11-5) will host third-seeded Wooster (4-3, 9-5) in the other semifinal match at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. OWU has knocked off Wooster nine straight time with the Bishops last loss to the Fighting Scots coming back in 2004. The championship game is set for Friday/Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round. If Denison hosts, the game will be played on Saturday at 7:30 p.m; if Wooster hosts, the game will be played on Saturday at 1:00 p.m; if Ohio Wesleyan hosts, the game will be played on Friday at 7:00 p.m.