The Kenyon women’s soccer team wrapped up its regular season this past Saturday, traveling to Granville to take on Denison University. Despite a 1-3 loss, the Owls punched their ticket to the NCAC Tournament thanks to their 3-2-2 final conference record (9-3-5 overall). 

As the first half of the match began, Kenyon was immediately forced onto its defensive end, and the Big Red wasted no time ripping shots at the net. Goalkeeper Ariel Kite ’27 made two important saves, preventing the Owls from having to handle an early setback. The Owls turned around to attack, with a shot from Clare Pruner ’28 toward the top corner that the Denison goalkeeper barely saved. Then, 23 minutes into the half, Kenyon scored its lone goal of the match off the foot of Emily Copeland ’28. Up 1-0 with plenty of time left in the game, the Owls looked to build off of their offensive success and lock down on defense. However, Denison disrupted Kenyon’s game plan, scoring less than 10 minutes later to tie the game. The Big Red wasted no time continuing their attack and worked the ball up the field to garner a corner and register another goal. Addison Szollosi ’29 wrapped up the half with two shots on goal, both saved by Denison’s keeper, sending the Owls into halftime down 2-1.

Kenyon was determined to regain its lead in the second half, but the Big Red struck again. At 55:02, just 10 minutes into resumption of play, Denison found the back of the net, increasing its advantage to 3-1. Now in a rut, the Owls fought back hard to stay in the game. Two shots from Pruner and one from Copeland were the only chances Kenyon saw, none of which got past Denison’s goalkeeper. With just five minutes left to play, the Owls had two back-to-back corners, hoping to make something happen, but were unable to prove successful. Kenyon ultimately fell to Denison 3-1. 

Despite the defeat, the Owls clinched their spot in the NCAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed. On Thursday evening, Kenyon will be back in action as the team travels to take on No. 1 seed John Carroll University in the NCAC semifinals.