NCAC Weekly Release (10-29-12) - Field Hockey

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DePauw (14-0, 17-1) successfully navigated a perfect conference schedule for just the fifth time in league history to earn its first-ever outright North Coast Athletic Conference Championship. Wittenberg leads the league with 10 titles all-time, while Denison, Ohio Wesleyan and Wooster have each won eight, Oberlin has two and Kenyon has one.

DePauw and Denison will enter the 2012 NCAC Tournament as the top two seeds for the second straight season after meeting in the Tournament Championship a year ago. The DPU Tigers will host fourth-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (8-5, 10-7) in a semifinal contest at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. DePauw earned a pair of shutout victories over Ohio Wesleyan during regular season. The other semifinal contest will feature second-seeded Denison (10-4, 14-5) hosting third-seeded Wooster (9-5, 11-8) at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in Granville. The Big Red and Scots split a pair of contests during the regular season. The championship match is set for Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round.

Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament ... Denison is the defending champion after winning its first tournament crown last year ... Wooster will be competing in the tournament for the 11th consecutive season as the only NCAC squad to have competed in every tournament since the inaugural event in 2002 ... Denison is appearing in the tournament for the fourth-consecutive season and eighth all-time ... Ohio Wesleyan returns to the tournament for the first time since 2009 and the third time overall, while DePauw returns for their second straight trip since joining the league in the 2011-12 season.

DENISON secured the No. 2 seed in the NCAC Tournament following a 7-0 victory over Earlham in the regular season finale on Saturday. Senior Catie Merrick (Greenwich, CT/Garrison Forest) posted a natural hat trick, while Katie McMahon (Wilmette,IL/New Trier) logged two goals and an assist. Senior goalie Brittany Benson (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) also recorded her 23rd career shutout in the win.

DEPAUW wrapped up its 2012 regular season with a 4-1 victory over Kenyon to finish a perfect
conference campaign (14-0). It marks the first NCAC undefeated season since Wooster in 2006 and the first team to win 14 NCAC games in a season. In the process, senior forward Margaret Ellis (St. Louis, MO/Whitfield) capped off senior day with a triumvirate of goals, bringing her career total to 73, breaking a 25-year old school record for career goals. Additionally, Tigers goalie Maggie Steele (Loveland, OH/Mount Notre Dame) finishes the regular season as the NCAC record holder for shutouts in a season (13). Lastly, the Tigers have recorded 16-straight victories (an NCAC record) and 17 total victories on the year (tied for most in school history).

EARLHAM saw its season come to an end with a pair of league losses against Wittenberg, 4-0,
and Denison, 7-0.

KENYON finished off its 2012 season with a pair of NCAC losses. The Ladies dropped a 5-2 home game to Wooster on Tuesday and then fell 4-1 at DePauw on Saturday.

OBERLIN saw its season come to an end with a pair of league losses against Ohio Wesleyan, 3-1, and Wooster, 6-0.

Sophomore attacker Allison Smith (East Aurora, NY/ East Aurora) scored to put OHIO WESLEYAN ahead to stay, and the Bishops went on to take a key NCAC win over Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan’s game at Wittenberg, scheduled for Friday, was suspended with the Tigers holding a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute. The game will be resumed on Monday.

WITTENBERG field hockey was supposed to close out the 2012 campaign with a home game against Ohio Wesleyan, but Mother Nature had other ideas. The Tigers and Bishops were suspended due to rain midway through the second half with Wittenberg leading 1-0. That came after a 4-0 win over Earlham that featured two goals by sophomore forward Megan Loofbourrow (Prospect, KY/Ballard).

WOOSTER closed out the regular season with three straight wins, including a conference win over Oberlin and a non-conference triumph over Bethany. Nikki Sever (Loveland, OH/Mount Notre Dame) broke the NCAC and school record for single-season assists with 18, surpassing Emily White’s 17 during the 2000 season, while Clare Nelson-Johnson (Wilmette, IL/Loyola Academy) became the eighth in team history to reach the 100-point milestone for a career (106).