GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College field hockey team needed just one goal Wednesday to get by the Wittenberg University Tigers in the semifinal round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The 1-0 win at McBride Field pushed the Ladies into the tournament final for the second consecutive season.

Kenyon, the tournament's No. 1 seed with a 17-2 record, advances to host No. 2-seeded DePauw University in the tournament finale. The winner of the tournament final, which will be held Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on McBride Field, collects the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

DePauw, which now has a 14-4 record, beat Denison University, 2-1, in the other NCAC semifinal game. During the regular season, Kenyon and DePauw split wins. Kenyon won at home, 1-0, but lost at DePauw, 3-0.

Wittenberg gave Kenyon a tough contest and showed vast improvement each time it faced the Ladies this year. During the regular season, Kenyon dealt the Tigers a 5-1 loss in September and then a 2-1 defeat in October. Wednesday's one-goal win was the Ladies' tenth straight over the Tigers, dating back to the 2012 season.

The game's only score occurred late in the first half. Sophomore Katelyn Hutchinson worked the right end line and drew near the Tigers' cage. As she did, she centered a pass to freshman Abby Roswell, who was just five yards out. Roswell sent the ball right back to Hutchinson, who was standing near the right post to punch home her ninth goal of the season. The assist was Roswell's first.

The final team shot count evened out at 11 apiece, but the Tigers held a 13-7 advantage in penalty corners. The Ladies defense did a good job of surviving those corners and keeping Wittenberg off the board.

Kenyon sophomore goalie, Sarah Speroff, had to make four saves throughout the game. Those stops yielded her 12th shutout of the season, a mark that tied the Kenyon record first set by Karen Thompson in the 2006 season. Speroff now has 71 saves for the year, as well as a 0.63 goals against average and a .855 save percentage. Both of those averages rank among the ten best in all of NCAA Division III.

At the other end of the field, Wittenberg goalie Sarah Brownell also made four saves for the Tigers, who closed out their season with an 8-11 record.