Kenyon to battle Ohio Wesleyan in NCAC semifinal

GAMBIER, Ohio -- After a one-year absence, the Kenyon College field hockey team returns to the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) postseason tournament that will decide who earns the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The appearance for the Owls, who enter as the No. 4 seed in the four-team bracket, is their ninth in the last ten seasons. The Owls were 10-7 overall this season and posted a conference record of 6-4, which tied them for fourth place with The College of Wooster. The Owls earned their tournament spot over Wooster due to their 3-1 regular-season win over the Fighting Scots.

As the No. 4 seed, Kenyon will travel to Delaware, Ohio on Wednesday to face No. 1-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University. It's a tall order for the Owls, as the host Battling Bishops claimed the top seed by going 10-0 in conference play, without allowing a single goal. Even more impressive, Ohio Wesleyan possesses a 16-0 overall record and has posted 13 consecutive shutouts.

During the regular season, these two teams met at Ohio Wesleyan on September 19. The Battling Bishops got a pair of goals from Olivia Danley and posted a 4-0 victory.

In each of Kenyon's last two appearances in the NCAC Tournament, the Owls ran into Ohio Wesleyan. In 2019, Kenyon prevailed, 2-1, in an overtime semifinal contest. In 2020, the Battling Bishops claimed a 1-0 win in the semifinal round.

The overall series between the two teams can't get much more even. Since 1973, the two teams have met 93 times with Ohio Wesleyan winning 46 times and Kenyon winning 44 times. The other three contests ended in a draw.

Kenyon, which won six of its last seven regular-season games, scored 41 goals and gave up 41 goals over the course of its 2023 schedule. Ohio Wesleyan scored 64 times, while yielding just four goals.

The Owls will try to break through the Battling Bishops defense with the efforts of junior Grace Lane, who leads the team and the conference in goals scored (15) and points (35). At the other end of the field, junior goalkeeper Megan Lydon has a 1.28 goals against average in her last seven games and comes in well-tested, having made a season-high 17 saves in the team's last game.

Ohio Wesleyan has been dominant on both sides of the field. Defensively, they deploy a goalkeeping tandem of Meg McCarthy and Brynn Schlesinger. Both have started eight games. Schlesinger has a 0.39 goals against average, while McCarthy boasts a 0.13 average. Offensively, Danley is the team's leader with 13 goals and 33 points.

As mandated by the conference office, tickets for the semifinal game will be $7 for adults and $3 for children (18 and under). Any NCAC student who presents their institution ID will be admitted free of charge.

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Players Mentioned

#11 Grace Lane: F/M; Sophomore

#35 Megan Lydon: GK; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#11 Grace Lane
: Sophomore
: F/M

#35 Megan Lydon
: Sophomore
: GK

Players Mentioned

#11 Grace Lane

#35 Megan Lydon

Players Mentioned

#11 Grace Lane

#35 Megan Lydon