GAMBIER, Ohio – For the second time in as many years, the Kenyon College field hockey team will host the Wittenberg University Tigers in the semifinal round of the four-team North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start Wednesday at the Ladies' home site of McBride Field.

Kenyon worked its way into tournament play by winning the NCAC regular-season title for the second consecutive year and for the third time since the conference was launched in 1984. The No. 1-seeded Ladies carry with them into tournament play a 16-2 overall record and a 13-1 mark within NCAC action. Wittenberg, the tournament's No. 4-seeded team, is the owner of an 8-10 overall record and an 8-6 NCAC mark. The Tigers have won more conference regular-season titles (10) than any other team in the NCAC, but the last time they did was in 2010.

In a count of NCAC Tournament titles, both teams have three. Kenyon is the defending tournament champion and Wittenberg won the first three tournaments, which started in 2002.

Last year's NCAC Tournament semifinal between these two team resulted in a 2-0 Kenyon victory. Current sophomore Shannon Hart scored both of the Ladies' goals in that win.

Earlier this season, Kenyon posted a 5-1 road win at Wittenberg on September 19. About a month after that, the two teams met again at Kenyon and the Ladies held on for a 2-1 win.

The Kenyon offense relies heavily on two-time All-American Maddie Breschi, a senior midfielder who leads the team with 16 goals, 17 assists, and 39 points. Hart has scored 11 times this season and fellow sophomores Katelyn Hutchinson and Weezie Foster have racked up eight and six goals, respectively.

Kenyon's offense averages 3.11 goals per game and its defense yields an average of just 0.67 goals per contest. The backbone of the defensive unit is sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Speroff, who has started all 18 games for the Ladies, possesses a .848 save percentage and has 11 shutouts to her credit.

That Kenyon defense, which ranks second nationally in shutouts per game and fifth nationally in goals against average, will try to put the clamps on a Wittenberg offense that averages 2.78 goals per game. Senior midfielder Paige Vanerstrom is the Tigers' top threat. She has 12 goals, 6 assists and 30 points. Senior forward Blaine Donnelly follows that with 13 goals, 1 assist and 27 points, while sophomore Audrey Coler has contributed eight goals this season.       

Wittenberg is one of the most improved teams in the conference and the Ladies can't take them lightly. The Tigers started out the season with a 0-7 record and were outscored 30-13 in those games. Since then, they've gone 8-3 and have outscored opponents by a 37-15 count.

The winner of Wednesday's semifinal will move on to play in Saturday's NCAC Championship game and will face the winner of the other NCAC semifinal, which has No. 2-seeded DePauw University hosting No. 3-seeded Denison University.

Live stats and live video will be provided for the semifinal match. Ticket prices for the contest are $5 for adults and $3 for children (18 and under). Admission is free for any student enrolled at an NCAC institution who presents a valid school ID at the gate.