NCAC Weekly Release (4-23-12) - Men's Lacrosse

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Denison (5-0, 11-1) clinched the 2012 NCAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday after defeating Kenyon, 11-6, in the inaugural Thomsen-Heiser Trophy game. The Big Red have won at least a share of the last two NCAC titles after finishing in a three-way tie a year ago with Ohio Wesleyan and Wittenberg. Kenyon currently sits in second in the league standings with two games remaining on the schedule this week against sixth-place Oberlin (0-4, 5-8) and fifth-place Wooster (1-3, 6-8), while Ohio Wesleyan (2-2, 10-3) and Wittenberg (2-2, 8-4) will meet on Wednesday to break the fourth-place tie in the league standings.

DENISON closed out its 2012 NCAC schedule on Saturday with an 11-6 win over Kenyon, clinching its 13th conference title in school history. With the win, the Big Red were also awarded the first-ever Thomsen-Heiser Trophy, commemorating legendary head coaches Tommy Thomsen Jr. of Denison and Bill Heiser of Kenyon. The Big Red, who are 11-1 overall, can finish the season with one loss for the first time since the 1968 season with victories over Otterbein and Saint Vincent in the final two games of the regular season. Senior midfielder Zach Walsh (Mtn. Lakes, NJ/Mtn. Lakes) tallied four points (3g, 1a) in the victory, including the game-winning goal late in the third quarter.

KENYON hung in with No. 7 Denison for a majority of the first half, but couldn’t keep pace with the Big Red in the second half in an 11-6 setback on Saturday. Senior attack Geoff Akie (Sherborn, MA/Dover-Sherborn), who leads the team with 20 goals on the season, scored two goals on four shots in the loss.

OBERLIN ran its winning streak to three in a row with victories over Bethany, 13-3, and La Roche, 17-7, in action last week. 11 different Yeomen found the net in the two games combined, led by freshman Sean Higgins (Media, PA/Malvern Prep) who racked up seven total finishes.

OHIO WESLEYAN sophomore midfielder Spencer Schnell (Dublin, OH/Jerome) scored a pair of first quarter goals to spark a 14-0 run that started the Battling Bishops on their way to a 25-9 non-conference victory over St. Vincent on Wednesday.

WITTENBERG posted a thrilling 7-6 come-from-behind victory over NCAC foe Wooster on Saturday, scoring the tying and game-winning goals in the final three minutes. Freshman Andrew Morrison (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson) fired in the game-tying shot with exactly three minutes left, and just over one minute later, sophomore Jack Bornhofen (Peachtree City, GA/McIntosh) netted the game-winner for the Tigers.

WOOSTER fell twice last week against Otterbein, 11-4, and Wittenberg 7-6, in action last week. Junior Matt Ranck (West Bloomfield, MI/Walled Lake) scored five of Wooster’s 10 goals on the week to total 42 on the season, which makes him the ninth player in school history to reach the 40-goal plateau for a season.