GREENCASTLE, Ind. – The Kenyon College men's soccer team saw its season come to a close in dramatic fashion, falling 3-2 to top-seeded DePauw University in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament semifinals on Wednesday night. The tightly contested matchup at Reavis Stadium marked the end of a strong 2025 campaign for the Owls, who finished 7-4-7 overall.
The Tigers wasted no time getting on the board, scoring less than a minute into the match. A Kenyon throw-in was intercepted and quickly transitioned upfield, where DePauw's Braden Murphey found Julian Bell at the top of the box. Bell took a pair of touches before ripping a low shot into the bottom-left corner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Kenyon responded just over 13 minutes later. After a corner kick, senior Isaac Cortez regained possession outside the box and sent a pinpoint cross into the center. First-year Jack Commandeur met it with a strong header that flew past the DePauw keeper to level the score at 1–1, notching his sixth goal of the season.
The Owls continued to apply pressure and capitalized on a defensive miscue in the 35th minute. A mishandled pass from DePauw's back line was intercepted by sophomore Emmett Brown, who found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Brown calmly slotted the shot into the bottom-left corner, granting his second goal of the season and giving Kenyon a 2–1 advantage.
However, the lead was short-lived. Just two minutes later, a foul inside the box gave DePauw a penalty, and Matthew Fogo converted the opportunity to bring the score to 2–2 heading into halftime.
In the 64th minute, DePauw netted what proved to be the deciding goal. A well-placed free kick from AJ Hockstok was redirected by Harrison Engel toward the far post, where Sebastian Leon tapped in the rebound to give the Tigers a 3–2 lead they would not relinquish.Kenyon pressed hard in the final minutes but the equalizer never came.
The Owls outshot DePauw 11–8 and led in corners 5–4, while both teams committed eight fouls in a physical match. Sophomore goalkeeper Dominic Pratt recorded two saves in the loss, while DePauw's Sam Ortner made one.
