GRANVILLE, Ohio -- The Kenyon College men's lacrosse team made the short trip to nearby Denison University on Saturday. The hosting Big Red rang up the win, downing the Owls 20-10 in a rematch of last season's North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament Championship.

Kenyon saw its season record drop to 6-4 with the loss, while Denison moved to .500 at 4-4. The matchup was the conference opener for each team, two of the three squads that tied for a share of the NCAC Championship after the 2023 regular season.

Thomas Nelson won the first face-off of the game for Kenyon, but it was all Dension the rest of the way. After a turnover on Kenyon's opening possession, the Big Red found the back of the net on their first offensive try. The goal sparked the home team, who caught fire for three unanswered goals over the first five minutes.

David Chintala converted a man-up goal to get the Owls on the board a few minutes later, but the Big Red answered with their own extra-man goal. Kenyon pulled within two at the end of the quarter after Jack McCarren found the mark, but the two-goal mark was as close as the Owls would come the rest of the way.

Denison opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run, and the home team outscored Kenyon in each quarter. The Owls offense got more looks in the second half after getting outshot 12-4 in quarter one and 25-14 in the first half overall, but Kenyon's 29-23 edge in second-half shots did not help the visitors cut into their deficit.

Chintala finished the contest with team-highs of four goals and five points, chipping in an assist. Additionally, his seven ground balls tied his career high. The sophomore is up to 34 goals this season and is tied for the top mark in the NCAC. His 40 total points are tied for second with Denison's Luke Fisher, who had a monster 10-point day after scoring eight goals and handing out two helpers against Chintala and the Owls.

Mike Kapral connected on two goals and added an assist, while McCarren also found the mark on two shots. Nelson was 10-for-23 in the face-off circle with 10 ground balls, while Will Jordan posted a 5-for-10 face-off mark.

Kenyon has a week to regroup before welcoming Wabash College to Gambier next Saturday, March 30. The Owls will be looking to snap a two-game skid at the 1 p.m. game, which marks Kenyon's annual Morgan's Message Game.