NCAC CHAMPIONSHIP SITE

GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College and Ohio Wesleyan University men's soccer teams will renew their rivalry Saturday in the championship game of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The game is slated for a 1 p.m. start at Mavec Field and marks the fifth time in the last six years these same two teams have met to decide the tournament title.

One year ago, Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan battled to a scoreless draw in the NCAC Tournament final, but OWU managed to claim the title by winning a penalty kick shootout. That result included, the host Lords have a 2-1-1 record against the Battling Bishops in their previous four championship meetings.

Kenyon enters this title tilt with a 15-1-2 record, a No. 14 national rank from the United Soccer Coaches and a No. 8 rank from D3soccer.com. The Lords went 8-0-1 in conference play and won the NCAC regular-season title for the fourth straight season. Throughout program history, the Kenyon men have collected 10 NCAC regular-season titles and three NCAC Tournament titles.


Ohio Wesleyan will arrive at Mavec Field with a 13-3-2 overall record and a second-place 6-1-2 NCAC mark. After a loss to Denison University in the final regular-season game of the year, the Battling Bishops dropped out of both national polls. The program, however, has been a powerhouse for quite some time. The Battling Bishops own 23 NCAC regular-season crowns and 10 NCAC Tournament titles.

Earlier this season, the two teams battled to a 1-1 draw in a conference contest at Kenyon. The Lords struck first with a goal from junior Philippe Stengel. Then, in the game's 34th minute, OWU netted the neutralizer off a free kick from sophomore Adam Yingling.

Yingling and freshman Hector Gomez lead all Ohio Wesleyan scorers with six goals apiece this season. As a team, the Battling Bishops have scored 37 goals (2.06 gpg) and allowed 11 (0.61 gpg) through 18 contests.

Kenyon attacks in a variety of ways and has 23 players on its roster who have scored at least one goal this season. Senior David Anderson tops the chart with 10 goals, while Brice Koval, another senior, has seven. Stengel and senior Will Bennett both scored six times for the Lords, who have tallied a total of 63 goals (3.50 gpg) , while allowing just 10 (0.56 gpg).

Among all NCAA Division III teams, Kenyon ranks 7th in scoring and 12th in goals against. While Ohio Wesleyan does not rank among the top 20 teams in either of those categories, it does rank first in the nation in corner kicks per game (8.39) and 20th in shots per game (19.94).

The winner of Saturday's final earns the NCAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. Kenyon, the NCAC's top seed, earned its spot in the final by topping No. 4-seeded Wabash College, 1-0, in Wednesday's semifinal. That result was recorded on a last-second, double-overtime goal from senior Bret Lowry. Ohio Wesleyan, the conference's No. 2 seed, got first-half goals from Gomez and Dom Calabrese to win its semifinal contest, 2-1, at home against Denison.

Tickets for Saturday's NCAC showdown are $7 for adults and $3 for children (18 and under). NCAC students with a valid institution ID will be admitted free of charge.