GRANVILLE, Ohio – In the final game of the 2016 regular season, the Kenyon College field hockey team yielded a late goal Saturday and fell to host Denison University in an important North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) contest.

The loss for the Ladies means they lock up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NCAC four-team tournament. However, the Kenyon women will have to turn around and go right back to Denison to face the No. 2-seeded Big Red. Kenyon will enter that game with 12-6 overall record and 10-4 mark in NCAC play, while Denison owns a 14-4 overall record and an 11-3 record in conference play.

Top-seeded DePauw University will host No. 4-seeded Wittenberg University in the other NCAC tournament semifinal game. Both semifinal games will be played Wednesday with start times at 3 p.m. The two semifinal winners will then head to the campus of the highest remaining seed to play the tournament final next Saturday.

Offense was at an absolute premium in the first half at Piper Field, as just five shots were taken between the two schools. Kenyon's lone attempt came from Katelyn Hutchinson at 11:28, but it was blocked by a defender. Denison didn't do much better. Its best attempt came about five minutes before the half as a shot from Noelle Hubbard was saved by junior Shannon Hart.

In the second half, the Big Red needed just 1:41 to tally the game's first goal. After a penalty corner was inserted by Jen Durbin, Charlotte Happel handled the ball and got it back to Durbin, who fired it by Kenyon goalkeeper Sarah Speroff.

Between the 50th and 65th minutes of the game, Denison's Melissa Hoey picked up two yellow cards, leaving the Big Red a player down for the final five minutes. About one minute after she exited the game, Kenyon capitalized. An initial shot from Hart was saved by Denison goalkeeper Ellen Westfall, but the rebound bounced out to Lynne Cullen who returned it over the Big Red goal line for her second goal of the season.

With 18 seconds left in regulation, Denison took the final of its seven penalty corners. Durbin, once again, pushed the ball into play. She found the stick of Lucy Pearsall, who created some space and launched in the game-winner from about 12 yards out.

That goal completed Denison's regular-season sweep of the Ladies. Back at the beginning of the month, the Big Red rang up a 1-0 win at Kenyon. The last time the Big Red swept the Ladies was in the 2013 season. They earned the right to host Kenyon in the tournament semifinal, but the Ladies wound up winning that game 1-0.