Denison Wins NCAC Title: Big Red Shut Out Washington and Jefferson
The Denison field hockey team clinched the North Coast Athletic Conference title with a 5-0 road victory over Washington and Jefferson, securing the program’s 13th straight win, bigred.denison.edu reported. The win brings the Big Red to 13-2 overall and 9-0 in NCAC play, while Washington and Jefferson drop to 1-11 overall and 1-8 in league play.
This victory marks the eighth NCAC title for the Big Red under P.J. Soteriades and earns the team the right to host the fourth seed in the conference tournament semifinals. Denison opened the scoring just three minutes into the first quarter when Emma Gebhart found Lulu Keil across the arc. The score remained 1-0 until the 23rd minute, when first-year player Maggie Lamb converted in front of the cage.
Denison controlled play through the third quarter, earning nine penalty corners. In the 42nd minute, Tabitha Chandler passed to Caroline Struzziero, who deflected the ball in to push the lead to 3-0. Madden Phelps added her first goal of the season in the 48th minute off a penalty corner insertion by Keil and collection by Gebhart. Reilly Desmond capped the scoring with an unassisted goal with under a minute remaining in regulation.
Denison Defense Ties Career Record with Ninth Shutout
The Denison defense limited Washington and Jefferson to a single shot and zero penalty corners, securing the team’s ninth shutout of the season. The defensive performance tied Therese Lucian’s career record of eight shutouts in a single season. The victory builds on a competitive conference slate where Denison, Ohio Wesleyan, and DePauw ultimately finished the regular season tied with 8-1 records in league standings, according to cbussports.com.
Denison later met Ohio Wesleyan in the NCAC tournament championship match at Selby Stadium in Delaware, where the Big Red captured the crown in overtime following a late regulation goal by Katherine Flanagan and an overtime winner by tournament MVP Emma Gebhart, as reported by cbussports.com. That tournament title earned Denison an automatic bid for the Division III NCAA Field Hockey Championship.
Upcoming Regular-Season Finale
The Big Red travel to DePauw University for their final regular-season game on October 31, 2026, at 12 p.m., according to the schedule published by bigred.denison.edu.
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