Field Hockey Victory

GAMBIER, Ohio (November 2, 2006) Junior Caroline Graham scored two goals Wednesday to kick-start a Kenyon offense that steamrolled the Wittenberg University Tigers, 5-1, in the semifinal round of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament.

The victory improved Kenyon's record to 16-5 and catapulted the Ladies into Saturday's conference championship game against the No. 1 seeded College of Wooster Fighting Scots (15-5). The winner of the championship game, which will start at 3:00 p.m. in Wooster, earns the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Graham and the Ladies, who entered tournament play as the No. 3 seed, did their most productive work Wednesday off of penalty corners. Three of the Ladies' goals developed off penalty corners, including the first one of the game, which Graham rifled in off an assist from Julia Sivon. Just before halftime, Graham scored off an assist from Lauren Keiling to give the Ladies a 2-0 advantage at the break.

In the second half, Sivon and Sasha Grumman scored off of penalty corners with each assisting the other. Sandwiched in between those goals was a successful penalty stroke from first-year student Hannah McConnell.

While Kenyon's offense keeps marching along, Sivon's two assists gave her nine this season and 16 in her career. She now ranks third all-time at Kenyon in the assists department and ranks fifth all-time with 68 career points (26 goals, 16 assists).

At the other end of the field, Kenyon sophomore goalkeeper Karen Thompson made two saves. The only Tiger to sneak a shot past her was Caroline Mason, who scored in the game's 45th minute after Wittenberg was already trailing 4-0.