Ohio Wesleyan 13, Denison 7

April 26, 2008

Senior attacker Julia Fouts (Cleveland Heights/Hathaway Brown) contributed 3 goals and an assist and junior attacker Hannah Mudge (Baltimore, Md./St. Paul's School) had 2 goals and an assist during a 9-0 run that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, and the Bishops withstood a second-half Denison rally to take a North Coast Athletic Conference win over the Big Red on Saturday at Roy Rike Field.

With the win, the Bishops clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAC tournament. Ohio Wesleyan will host the tournament on Friday and Saturday at Roy Rike Field, with tournament matchups and game times to be announced by the conference.

Senior midfielder Kadi Kuhlenberg (Cincinnati/Anderson) put the Bishops on the scoreboard less than 5 minutes into the game, but Denison answered with a score by Meg Wilcox.

Senior midfielder Alexa Deaton (Eden, Md./Mercersburg Academy) notched a goal that put Ohio Wesleyan ahead to stay, and senior attacker Polly Burke (Milton, Mass.) converted a free position shot to extend the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 3-1 with 11:52 left in the first half.

The Bishop margin could have been wider at that point as Ohio Wesleyan had 2 goals waved off and missed an apparent third when Kuhlenberg's rocket bounced off the pipe and out of the crease.

Less than 2 minutes after Burke's goal, Kuhlenberg ripped another shot that hit the pipe, but this time, the ball caromed right to Mudge, who scored from point-blank range to give the Bishops a 4-1 lead with 10:02 remaining in the first half.

Deaton fed sophomore midfielder Abbey Miller (Wollwich, Maine/Morse) for a score just 12 seconds later, and Fouts and Deaton added goals to give the Bishops a 7-1 lead at halftime.

Fouts and Mudge teamed up for all 3 goals, with Mudge assisting Fouts twice and Fouts returning the favor by setting up Mudge, as the Bishops reeled off 3 scores in the first 4:12 of the second half, extending the lead to 10-1.

Denison ended the Bishop run on Lindsay Howard's goal just under a minute later, and the Big Red offense starting clicking with a score by Kelly Lengsfield shortly thereafter. Denison chipped away at the deficit, getting 3 straight scores by Wilcox to pull within 10-6 with 6:33 left in regulation time.

On the ensuing draw, however, a foul on Denison gave the ball to Ohio Wesleyan, and on the restart, sophomore attacker Jessica Copeland (Ligonier, Pa./Foxcroft (Va.)) drove straight to the goal and scored, starting a 3-0 Bishop run that sealed the win.

Mudge led the Bishops with 3 goals and 3 assists, while Fouts finished with 3 goals and an assist and Deaton added 2 goals and an assist.

Senior Maggie Eichenlaub (Crystal, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper) had 7 saves for Ohio Wesleyan.

Wilcox led the Big Red with 4 goals. Amanda Wilson finished with 5 saves for Denison.

Box Score