GAMBIER, Ohio – For the second time in as many seasons, the Kenyon College field hockey team will be playing in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament's final game. Wednesday at McBride Field the Ladies reserved their spot in the final by dispatching the Wittenberg University Tigers, 2-0.

The win was the Ladies' 11th in a row and fourth in a row via shutout. They improved their overall record to 18-2 and have not allowed a goal in over 310 minutes of playing time. In fact, Wittenberg, which finishes its season with a 9-11 record, was the last team to score a goal against Kenyon and that came early in the second half of a game played on October 18.

While their focus is certainly on the game ahead, the Ladies' win also marked a program record. The team's total of 18 victories matches the Kenyon single-season standard set by the 2006 team, which won the NCAC and went on to participate in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In order for the Ladies to gain the NCAC's automatic bid and advance to the national tournament this season, they'll have to get by Denison University, the No. 3-seeded team that upended No. 2-seeded DePauw University, 2-0, in the other NCAC semifinal contest.

The championship game between top-seeded Kenyon and Denison will be played on McBride Field at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Although Kenyon is a team loaded with veteran experience, it was freshman Shannon Hart who made all the difference against Wittenberg. She scored both of the Ladies' goals. In the first half, she approached the Tigers' cage from the right, sidestepped goalkeeper Sarah Brownell, and then swiped her back-handed shot over the line. In the second half, Hart's goal came off a penalty corner. Junior Maddie Breschi took the initial shot, which bounced off Brownell's pad and trickled toward the left post. Hart was standing there and finished off the play. The goals were her 10th and 11th of the season.

Kenyon didn't reach its typical high volume of penalty corners, but it did manage an 11-7 margin against the Tigers. The Ladies also out-shot Wittenberg, 20-6, while welcoming back starting goalkeeper Sarah Speroff, who returned from illness to make four saves.  

In addition to tying the Kenyon single-season record for wins, the Ladies established new program records for points in season (186) and goals in a season (72).