Tournament Time

GAMBIER, Ohio (November 1, 2006) For the second time in as many seasons, the women's soccer team qualified for postseason play. This season, they'll play as the North Coast Athletic Conference champion and as the team to beat.

The Ladies (13-4-0, 6-2-0 NCAC) claimed their first-ever conference crown Saturday after defeating Earlham College, 1-0. Along with the championship came home-field advantage throughout the four-team conference tournament, which gets underway Wednesday. The No. 1 seeded Ladies will host No. 4 Denison University at 2:00 p.m. in one semifinal game, while No. 3 Wittenberg travels to No. 2 Wooster in the other semifinal. The winners will meet Saturday in a championship game that will decide which team earns the automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Kenyon is currently ranked No. 26 in the nation by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and No. 31 in the latest poll released by d3kicks.com. The Ladies are led on the offensive front by junior Amanda Drummond and sophomore Amy Kessler. Drummond has eight goals and an assist, while Kessler owns seven goals and three assists. Defensively, the women are backed by junior goalkeeper Rosie Davis, who has seven shutout wins and a miniscule 0.58 goals against average.

Denison enters the game as the highest scoring team in the conference; however, the Big Red was shutout at Kenyon (1-0) during regular-season play on October 21. Tammy Hoch and Lauren Going lead Denison's offensive onslaught with nine and seven goals, respectively. They also carry in with them the experience of tournament play. The Big Red was NCAC champion last season and rolled all the way into the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament.

As set forth by the conference office, tickets for Wednesday's semifinal match up at Mavec Field will be $5. Children, students, faculty and staff will be charged $2. Present your Kenyon ID and be admitted free of charge.