GRANVILLE, Ohio -- The Kenyon College women's soccer team faced off against the Denison University Big Red in the first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) matchup of the season for both teams. Denison (4-2-4, 1-0 NCAC) bested Kenyon (5-2-4, 0-1 NCAC) by a score of 4-0, with all of the goals coming in the second half.

Denison started off strong, firing off three shots in the first two minutes of the game, two of which were denied by junior goalie Gabi Pesticci, who had saved an impressive 81 percent of her shots faced heading into the game. Going forward, Kenyon settled down and improved its offensive possessions for the remainder of the half. Juniors Hailey Moss and Eun Hae Lillig both attempted shots on goal, though neither found the net, and the first half concluded with a 0-0 tie. 

Unfortunately for the Owls, Denison turned up their intensity to begin the second half. The Big Red scored three goals within a 45-second stretch in the 46th minute and added one more goal in the 78th minute to bring their total to four. Three out of Denison's four goals came from outside of the box and appeared to be perfectly placed into the top corner of the net. 

Julianna Granetzke paced the Owls with three shots and two on-target attempts, while Moss added two shots. Overall, Denison outshot Kenyon 14-7 with a 7-4 edge in shots on goal.

Entering the game, Kenyon had 23 goals on the season, which ranked third in the NCAC, and they allowed only eight goals, which was first in the conference. The Denison offense appeared to break out as they improved their season goal total from eight to 12 with the four goals they tacked on today. 

The Owls look ahead to another away game on Wednesday, October 11, when Kenyon heads to Wittenberg University (2-6-4, 0-1 NCAC) to seek their first conference victory. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff in Springfield, Ohio.