GAMBIER, Ohio—The one-two punch of Becca Romaine and Maggie Smith came through again Wednesday for the Kenyon College women's soccer team. Second-half goals from the duo propelled the Ladies by the Wittenberg University Tigers and into the North Coast Athletic Conference championship match.

The semifinal win for the Ladies (11-7-1) was their first in NCAC tournament history and their appearance in the tournament's championship match, which will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday on Mavec Field, will also be a first. That championship game with feature the No. 1-seeded Ladies entertaining the No. 2-seeded Allegheny College Gators, who defeated Denison University, 4-1, in Wednesday's other NCAC semifinal. Earlier this season, the Ladies dealt the Gators a 3-2 loss at Mavec Field. That game occurred on October 4 and started a sting of seven Kenyon wins in the past eight games.

After a slow start, one in which the Ladies managed just four shots in the first half, Kenyon cranked up the pressure in the second half. In the game's 60th minute, the Purple and White finally broke through. Awarded a penalty kick for a Wittenberg infraction in the box, Romaine, a senior, worked the left corner of the net to tally her team-leading 15th goal of the season.

Roughly 18 minutes after Romaine scored, Smith, a sophomore, tacked on an insurance goal. She broke away in Wittenberg territory, outran a couple of defenders, and beat the Wittenberg goalkeeper with a 12-yard shot to the left side. That was her eighth goal of the season.

Romaine and Smith have accounted for 13 of the Ladies' 14 goals scored over the last seven games. On the season, the duo can take credit for 23 of the Ladies' 30 goals.

While that pairing can light up a scoreboard at any time, the Kenyon defense deserves a chunk of credit, too. The Ladies' back line staved off 14 Wittenberg shots and six corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Alissa Poolpol made three saves to notch her sixth shutout win of the season.