GAMBIER, Ohio – For the first time in the history of the program, the Kenyon College field hockey team will be hosting the North Coast Athletic Conference's championship game. The contest will take place Saturday at 2 p.m. on McBride field and the top-seeded Ladies will be taking on the No. 3-seeded Denison University Big Red.

Although it is the first field hockey championship game in Gambier, the Kenyon team is no stranger to the four-team postseason tournament. Last year, the Ladies defeated Denison, 1-0, in the semifinal round and lost to DePauw University in the final. Overall, this is the Ladies' seventh appearance in conference tournament play.

Kenyon (18-2) made it to the final by whipping up a 2-0 win in Wednesday's semifinal against Wittenberg University. Freshman Shannon Hart scored both Ladies' goals in that game. Denison (13-6) is making its third championship appearance in the last four seasons. The Big Red punched their ticket to the big game with a 2-0 upset of DePauw in the other NCAC semifinal game. Britta Marden and Molly Chapman had the goals for Denison.

Back on September 27, Denison handed Kenyon one of its two regular-season losses. The Big Red scored three second-half goals, two by Chloe Dikeou, and chalked up a 3-1 win on McBride Field.  The Ladies have not lost since then. They have rattled off 11 straight wins, including a 1-0 victory at Denison on October 25. Maddie Breschi tallied the lone goal in that Ladies' win.

Breschi has 13 goals and six assists (32 points) this season, but she does not lead the team in points. That honor goes to senior Rachel Hall, who has 13 goals and eight assists (34 points). The Ladies offense, which averages 3.65 goals per game, has also received a big boost from Hart. Her two goals in the semifinal were her 10th and 11th of the season and her sixth in the past six games.

Defensively, the Ladies are stout. They've posted four consecutive shutout wins and they've yielded an average of just 1.10 goals per game. Goalkeeper Sarah Speroff has made 83 saves in 17 games played and has a save percentage of .806.

Chapman is Denison's top point-producer. She has 11 goals and three assists (25 points), while Abby Martone will check into Saturday's game with eight goals and four assists (20 points) for a Big Red squad that averages 2.89 goals per game. On the other side of the field, the Denison defense gives up an average of just 0.95 goals per game. Goalkeeper Audrey Miller-Foreman has six shutouts, 39 saves, and a .684 saves percentage on her resume.

Last year's meeting in the semifinal was the only time Kenyon and Denison clashed in NCAC tournament play. Overall, the rivalry between to the two teams dates back to the 1972 season. Since then, the teams have played 84 times and Denison holds a 61-20-3 record in the series.

Kenyon will provide live stats and live video for the championship game, whose winner earns the NCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament.

Ticket prices for the contest are $5 for adults and $3 for children (18 and under). Admission is free for any student of an NCAC institution who presents a valid school ID at the gate.