Ohio Wesleyan slips by #9 Denison, 14-13

On Apr 1, 2021

DELAWARE, Ohio—Ohio Wesleyan outscored No. 9 Denison 5-2 in the fourth quarter to pull out a 14-13 victory over the Big Red from Selby Stadium. Denison drops to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the NCAC West while the Battling Bishops improve to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC West. The stage is also set for Saturday’s rematch in Granville.

Game Highlights

Denison trailed 2-0 in the opening minutes but went on a 5-0 run to close out the first quarter.
The Big Red trailed by two with a minute to go but Sam Asman’s goal off a feed from Nick Vance gave Denison some life. Ohio Wesleyan sent a long pole Austin Plaster to the face-off X and he won the critical draw. The Battling Bishops managed to play keep away and run out the remaining 40 seconds of regulation.
Denison won 21 of 30 face-off’s but OWU had the most success with Plaster. He was 4-of-8 when taking draws. Davis Cronin was 16-for-22 with seven ground balls at the X for the Big Red.
First-year Nate Kay led Denison with three goals. Asman and Luke Fisher added a pair while Ethan Tyack scored one goal and led the way with three assists.
Ohio Wesleyan was led by Whit Stopak and Conor McGeeney who finished with three goals apiece.
There were eight lead changes and seven tie-game situations in the game.

Inside the Rivalry

This is the 15^th time in the Mike Caravana Era (1991-2005; 2009-present) that a Denison-Ohio Wesleyan game has been decided by one goal.
The last time Denison played Ohio Wesleyan in back-to-back games was April 5 and April 19, 1997. The Big Red won the first, 13-12 in overtime on the road but dropped the second game at home, 17-8.
This is the earliest Denison and Ohio Wesleyan have played one another since the 1972 season.
This was the 105th meeting in the all-time series. After tonight’s game Denison holds a 56-48-1 advantage.

The rematch will take place at 1 p.m. at Piper Stadium in Granville on Saturday, April 3. The Denison Sports Network live coverage will begin at 12:45 p.m. at denisonbigred.com/watch.