GAMBIER, Ohio -- After securing the second regular-season North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title in program history, the Kenyon College men's lacrosse team is set to host the semifinal round of the NCAC Tournament. The second-seeded Owls welcome third-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University to The Field at Benson Bowl on Thursday to open the four-team Tournament.

Kenyon, the No. 23-ranked team in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's Division III coaches poll, earned the right to host a semifinal matchup as the second seed. The Owls shared the regular-season NCAC Championship with both Ohio Wesleyan and Denison University, the No. 1 seed, as all three teams posted a 7-1 record in conference contests. Kenyon posted a 14-1 regular-season record, the seventh one-loss season in program history. Additionally, the Owls posted the second-best winning percentage (.933) in program history, trailing only Kenyon's 1955 team that went 8-0. The 14 wins tie last season's mark for the most in Kenyon history.

On the other side, Ohio Wesleyan posted a 12-4 (7-1 NCAC) record this season. The battle between the Owls and the Battling Bishops is a rematch of last season's NCAC Tournament semifinal, a game Kenyon won 12-6 at home. However, OWU came out on top in the most recent matchup, when the visiting Battling Bishops beat the Owls 10-8 on March 25, handing Kenyon its only loss this season. Kenyon took a 4-0 lead in that matchup and led 8-5 early in the third quarter, but a power outage caused by stormy weather and high winds caused a break in the action. In an unconventional atmosphere without a scoreboard or clock, OWU took the momentum and won the game.

The semifinal matchup winner will face the winner of the semifinal bout between top-seeded Denison (14-3, 47-1 NCAC) and Oberlin College (8-7, 4-4 NCAC), the fourth seed. The Championship game will take place on Sunday at the home site of the highest remaining seed.

The Owls have outscored opponents by an average of eight goals, the second-best mark in the NCAC. Kenyon has racked up 230 goals while conceding 110, and their 7.33 goals against average ranks seventh in the nation and is the conference's best. Ohio Wesleyan posted the third-best scoring margin at 5.9 after scoring 220 goals and allowing 126. The Battling Bishops rank third in points per game (21.13) and fourth in both goals (13.75) and assists (7.38) per game. The Owls rank second in all three categories with per-game averages of 23.87 points, 15.33 goals, and 8.53 assists.

Kenyon's offensive attack features two players ranked within the NCAC's top 10 points producers. Senior Jack Giuffre leads the Owls with 60 points on 31 assists and 29 goals. His 2.07 assists per game rank third in the NCAC. David Chintala, a first-year, has tallied 56 points with a team-high 47 goals and nine assists, and his 3.13 goals per game average is the conference's third-highest mark. Rollins Heath (36), Gavin Gumucio (30), Joe Boesel (29), and Evan Bongers (25) round out Kenyon's top six point producers, having all added double-digit goal and assist totals. Colin McCarthy (17), Chase MacCartee (15), and Rowan Goldin (13) have all scored double-digit goals. 

Defensively, first-year goalkeeper Adam Hall is 14-1 with 148 saves, a .583 save percentage, and a 7.87 goals against average. His goals against average ranks 11th in NCAA Division III, and he leads the NCAC in save percentage. 

Thomas Nelson has been one of the nation's best faceoff specialists. He has won 215 of 289 faceoff battles, and his .744 winning percentage is the best in the country. The sophomore has also grabbed an NCAC-leading 151 ground balls, and his per-game average of 10.07 is tied for 15th-best at the DIII level.

The semifinal matchup on The Field at Benson Bowl is slated for a 4 p.m. start. As mandated by the NCAC, tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children (18 years of age and under). Any NCAC student with a valid ID from their NCAC institution will be admitted free of charge.