WASHINGTON, Pa.- With its 13th straight win, the Denison field hockey team clinched the North Coast Athletic Conference title with a 5-0 road victory over Washington and Jefferson. The Big Red improve to 13-2 overall and 9-0 in NCAC play, while the Presidents drop to 1-11 overall and 1-8 in league play. Today's win is the Big Red's eighth NCAC title under P.J. Soteriades and earns them the right to host the fourth seed in the conference tournament semifinals.
The scoring duo of Emma Gebhart and Lulu Keil picked up where they left off this past weekend against Transylvania. Just three minutes into the first quarter, Gebhart found Keil across the arc for the Big Red's first goal. The Presidents held Denison to that one until the 23rd minute of play when first-year Maggie Lamb found her way in front of Washington and Jefferson's cage for goal number two.
Up 2-0 heading into the third quarter, the Big Red were firing at all cylinders, earning themselves nine penalty corners throughout the quarter. Denison finally broke through the President's defense in the 42nd minute after a penalty corner, when Tabitha Chandler pushed a pass to Caroline Struzziero, who deflected it in for the three-goal lead.
The Big Red's final two goals were within the final three minutes of play. In the 48th minute, Madden Phelps scored her first goal of the season after a well-executed penalty corner: Keil inserted it, Gebhart collected it, and then dumped it to Phelps. With time winding down and a four-goal lead, Denison matched last year's goal differential with an unassisted goal by Reilly Desmond, extending their lead to five with less than a minute left in regulation.
Denison's defense held strong again, giving up just one shot and no penalty corners, ultimately leading to the team's ninth shutout of the season and ties Therese Lucian's career record of eight shutouts in a season.Â
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Up Next for the Big Red:Â
The Big Red travel to DePauw University for their final regular-season game on October 31st at 12 p.m.Â
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