GAMBIER, Ohio – For the last two years, the Denison University Big Red won the North Coast Athletic Conference field hockey tournament. Saturday, the Kenyon College Ladies will try to put an end to that brief run as they battle the Big Red in the 2019 tournament final.

The game between the rival institutions is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at Denison's Piper Stadium. Both teams enter the contest with 15-3 records. Both teams also shared, along with Ohio Wesleyan University, the NCAC regular-season title. The conference's tiebreaker system, used for tournament seeding, ended up pushing Denison through as the No. 1 seed and dropped Kenyon to the No. 3 seed.

On Wednesday, Kenyon got an overtime goal from senior Hannah Sklar to defeat Ohio Wesleyan, the No. 2 seed, in the tournament's semifinal round. Denison worked its way in to the tournament final by topping No. 4 seed DePauw University, 2-0, in the other semifinal game. Freshman Madeleine Hunt scored both goals for the Big Red.

During the regular season, Denison came to Kenyon and suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Ladies. That ended the Big Red's record-setting 26-game conference win streak. Kenyon sophomore Isabella Meneguzzi scored the game's first goal off a penalty corner inserted by Sklar. Fifty seconds after that, Denison's Meg Baylis scored off a penalty corner to knot things up. Sophomore Sarah Metzmaier settled things later, scoring Kenyon's game-winner the fourth quarter off an assist from junior Olivia O'Connell.

Metzmaier leads the Ladies and ranks second in the NCAC with 15 goals and 33 points this season. Freshman Bella Kern has six goals and both Sklar and Tara Shetty, a junior, have five. While that group paces Kenyon's offense, freshman goalkeeper Payton Doan is the anchor of the defense. Her 0.38 goals against average is the best among all NCAA Division III players and her .857 save percentage ranks seventh.

Junior Charlotte Godfrey tops Denison's offense with nine goals and 24 points this season. Hunt has seven goals and both Abby Scully and Maya Tumiwa have six. In front of the cage, junior Teya Adams is the Big Red's featured keeper. She started all 18 games and owns a 0.51 goals against average, as well as a .852 save percentage.

As most of the season stats look to be equal, big-game experience is also a draw when it comes to these two teams. Both won two NCAC Tournaments within the last five seasons of play. Since the NCAC Tournament was established in 2002, Kenyon owns a perfect 3-0 record against Denison in postseason play.

Ticket prices for the NCAC final will be $7 for adults and $3 for children (18-and under). NCAC students presenting their institution ID will be admitted free of charge.