Hoch's Pair of Goals Lead Denison Past Transy

Transylvania may have entered the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship with a sparkling 16-1 record. Unfortunately for the Pioneers they were paired against a tournament-tested Big Red squad that was playing in their eighth NCAA Tournament out of the last 10 seasons. The result was a 2-0 opening round victory which sets up a rematch with either Wittenberg or Otterbein on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.

Denison senior center-mid Tammy Hoch (left) asserted herself early as she broke the scoreless tie with her team-leading 10th goals of the season. Hoch scored the goal in the 16th minute when she banged a shot past Transy goalkeeper Ally Tucker off a deflection.

Six minutes later Hoch struck again. This time she accepted a pass from Laura Kuehn and sent the ball into the upper corner of the goal, setting the final at 2-0.

DU had control throughout the match, leading the shot battle 13-2 and taking corner kicks 12-2. Hoch and Anne Young led Denison with three shots a piece. Junior goalkeeper Liz Gillette (right) was forced to make just one save in her 90 minutes of work. The shutout marked her ninth of the season.

Denison (15-4-1) will now take on the winner of the first round match between Otterbein and Wittenberg on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. in Springfield. DU went 1-1 versus Wittenberg in the regular season and the Cardinals handed DU a 1-0 loss on Sept. 20 in Granville. The victory improves Denison's record in the NCAA Tournament to 7-9-1.