GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's soccer team needed just one first-half goal Wednesday to defeat the Denison University Big Red in a rainy North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) semifinal game at Mavec Field.

The victory extended the team's win streak to 11 games and boosted the Lords into the NCAC tournament final for the fifth straight season.

Kenyon, which entered Wednesday's game as the No. 1 seed in the four-team tournament and as the No. 9-ranked team in the nation, outshot Denison, 34-4. Even with that season-high total of 34 shots, the Lords struggled to find quality looks. Just 11 shots were on goal, while the other 23 were either off target or blocked by Denison defenders.

The one shot that did hit twine was struck by Kenyon junior Brice Koval during the game's 38th minute. Senior Oliver Wynn set the stage by driving the left side and firing off an attempt that Denison goalkeeper Jack Thomas dove to save. The ball glanced off Thomas' hands and to the feet of Koval, who finished off the play with his sixth goal of the season.

Denison, which ends its 2017 campaign with a 7-8-3 record, only made a few serious charges through the Kenyon defense. Early in the game Luis Zamora launched a close-range shot that Kenyon goalkeeper Ian McInturf saved. Then, late in the game, Jasdeep Khaira sent in a lazy header off a free kick that McInturf had no problems controlling. About two minutes after that, Denison's last gasp was thwarted by McInturf, who dove forward to pick off a crossing pass made right in front of the goal mouth.

Kenyon, which improved to 15-2-2, put together a few second-half runs that looked like they might double the lead, but each attempt was stopped by Thomas, who finished the game with 10 saves. In the game's 70th minute, Wynn laid out a perfect ball from the right side of the box to the left post, where it was met by Bret Lowry. Lowry dove toward the goal and headed the ball on target, but Thomas got in position quick enough to make the stop.

Over the next seven minutes of play, Woo Jeon, Wynn and Tanner Jordi all unleashed strong shots in the box, but all three were right at Thomas, who kept Denison in the game.

The Lords, who now have four-straight shutout wins, will host the NCAC tournament's final game Saturday at noon. They'll entertain the winner of Wednesday night's game between Wabash College and Ohio Wesleyan University. The winner of Saturday's tournament final takes the NCAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III tournament.