GAMBIER, Ohio – After the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) men's soccer regular-season schedule wrapped up on Saturday, the 2024 conference tournament bracket was set. Within the four-team bracket, the Kenyon College team took the third seed and will play at two-seeded Denison University on Thursday night in Granville in a rematch of last year's final.
This year looks different than the past several for the third-seeded Owls, who won eight straight NCAC regular season titles prior to this season. Despite the dominant run coming to an end, this may be the spark that Kenyon (12-2-3, 6-2 NCAC) needs to capture its first tournament title since 2019.
The Owls started the season 7-0-3 and rose to No. 2 in the NCAA Division III United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll after wins over No. 15 Ohio Northern, No. 24 Johns Hopkins, and No. 8 Christopher Newport, along with a 1-1 draw at No. 17 Franklin and Marshall.
However, Kenyon dropped back-to-back conference games to Ohio Wesleyan University, which will play DePauw University in Thursday's other NCAC semifinal, and Denison. Those two teams claimed the top two seeds in the conference tournament and a share of the NCAC regular season title. Those losses for Kenyon, now ranked at No. 14 nationally, snapped a 56-0-4 record in conference regular-season contests dating back to 2016, but the Owls bounced back with a 5-0 record to close the season, allowing only one goal in the final five games.
The Owls rank third in the NCAC in goals per game (2.12), while giving up 0.94 goals per contest, which slots fourth in the conference. Senior forward Alem Duratovic added another strong season to his impressive Kenyon career, tallying a team-leading eight goals and 18 points in 10 games played. He is followed by senior midfielder Gerardo Martinez, who leads the Owls in assists (5), while ranking second in points (11).
Denison (11-1-5, 6-0-2 NCAC), currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, had another strong season after winning the conference crown in 2023, as the Big Red's only loss of 2024 came to Centre College on September 13, and the team remained unbeaten from there on out, eventually drawing with Ohio Wesleyan, 0-0, in the regular-season finale.
The Big Red are led by Jake Krueger on offense. His 13 goals and four assists put him atop the conference rankings in both goals and points (30). As a team, Denison ranks first in the NCAC with 0.35 goals allowed per game and ranks second in the conference with an average of 2.24 goals per contest.
In the regular season match-up between Kenyon and Denison at Mavec Field in early October, the Owls got on the board first just 15 minutes from the start, marking one of six goals scored on the Big Red this season. However, two second-half goals from the Big Red, within 10 minutes of each other, gave the visitors the edge at 2-1.
The NCAC semifinal will start at 7 p.m. Thursday and will be held at Kienzle-Hylbert Stadium on Denison's campus in Granville, Ohio. As mandated by the NCAC, tickets for the game 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.
