Kenyon Pulls Off 2-1 Upset Over Fighting Scots in NCAC Title Tilt

Anlyn Addis

WOOSTER, Ohio – Third-seeded Kenyon College came from behind to score two unanswered goals and used a tenacious defense en route to upsetting the No. 1 seed, The College of Wooster, 2-1 Saturday afternoon in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament championship game. With the victory, the Ladies (17-5) claimed their first-ever NCAC tournament title and more importantly, earned the automatic berth into next week’s NCAA Div. III Tournament.

The Fighting Scots (15-6) earned the top seed in the four-team tournament after claiming the 2006 NCAC championship with a perfect 12-0 record in league play. The Scots knocked off No. 4 seed Denison University 2-0 Wednesday afternoon to advance to the final match, while Kenyon upended second-seeded Wittenberg University 5-1 to advance.

Saturday's game was destined to be a slugfest between the two squads after Wooster had narrowly slipped by the Ladies twice previously in the season, a 1-0 victory at home (Sept. 23) and a 2-1 overtime win (Oct. 14) in Gambier.

The Scots wasted little time getting on the board, with senior standout Anlyn Addis securing the ball in the left wing 6:57 into the match, and smacking a shot that dribbled past Kenyon goalie Karen Thompson giving the Scots an early 1-0 lead. Both teams would battle through the remainder of the period, as each had several shot opportunities, but neither being able to capitalize.

It looked as if the Scots would take a 1-0 lead into the half, however Wooster was whistled for a foul, giving Kenyon a penalty corner opportunity. The Ladies’ Julia Sivon received the ball and slapped it to teammate Sasha Grumman, who blasted a shot into the back right corner of the goal, knotting the game 1-1 with 29 seconds remaining in the period.

Kenyon took that momentum into the second half, controlling play early on. The Ladies had several quality scoring opportunities, but Wooster defense, keyed by Miranda Leickly and Anna Hurley, was able to clear the ball repeatedly. In addition, Scot goalie Anne Leigh made a few clutch saves, including a diving stop from a shot on the left side by Kayla Greenberg with ten minutes expired in the period.

Both squads tightened their defenses and continued to fight through twenty minutes of the period. The Scots nearly added a goal with 12:35 remaining, when Amanda Artman broke away for a one-on-one opportunity, rocketing a shot at the goal, but Thompson stepped up for the Ladies, making the huge save and keeping the game at a stalemate.

The Ladies were given a penalty corner opportunity with a little less than 11 minutes remaining in the game, and Grumman again rose to the occasion, firing a shot from just inside the circle that found its way past a diving Leigh, for what proved to be the game-winning goal with 10:46 remaining in action.

Wooster would continue to fight for a scoring opportunity, but Kenyon’s defense held the Scot at bay for the remainder of the contest, securing the upset.

Statistically, the Ladies outshot the Scots by a slim 16-14 margin, and also edged the Scots 7-6 in penalty corner opportunities.
Defensively, Leigh recorded seven saves in goal for the Scots, while Thompson registered five saves for Kenyon.

The loss most likely puts and end to the Scots successful season, however, the NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced Sunday on www.ncaasports.com at approximately 9 p.m., when the Scots hope to earn an at-large bid.

All-NCAC Tournament Team

Claire Kase, Denison

Carter Hartung, Denison

Alison Voigt, Wittenberg

Rachel Dunn, Wittenberg

Miranda Leickly, Wooster

Katy Baron, Wooster

Anna Hurley, Wooster

Sasha Grumman, Kenyon

Perrin Legg, Kenyon

Julia Boyer, Kenyon

NCAC Tournament MVP

Julia Sivon, Kenyon