The DePauw field hockey team is getting used to walking off Blackstock West Field in jubilation.
They've broken school records, won the NCAC regular season title, and now they locked up an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III National Championship.
With a 2-0 win over Denison University on Saturday afternoon, the Tigers proceed to the national tournament for the first time in more than a decade.
And they've done it in record-shattering fashion.
DePauw registered its 19th win in the title match, good for a school record. The win total also broke an NCAC record as well (18), and the 18-game win streak is a school record and conference record, too. It was the 15th shutout of the season - the most in Div. III. And, of course, senior Margaret Ellis broke two 25-year-old DePauw records - points and goals.
The question now is: how does DePauw stack up to the rest of the country?
"We have a strong defense and a lot of different players who can score for us," head coach Gina Wills said. "We've continued to improve throughout the season, and I don't think we've seen the best yet. Today was another step forward, but I think we have a lot of play left in us."
The Tigers battled through a stalemate in the first half of the NCAC title game, with Denison's defense stepping up and halting many DePauw threats.
Senior Big Red goalkeeper, Brittany Benson, was well-positioned in the first half to black Tigers' shots and tallied three saves.
"We definitely made a few adjustments (at halftime)," sophomore forward Paige Henry said. "But keeping up the pressure and being patient on defense were key things."
Just four minutes into the second half, DePauw capitalized on a penalty corner. Junior Chelsea Cutler passed the ball to Ellis, who battled flu-like symptoms during the game, at the top of the scoring circle. The senior from St. Louis, lifted a shot about chest-high toward goal. Henry lifted her stick and redirected the ball past Benson for the first goal of the game.
"My plan is shoot, and Paige will touch it," Ellis said. "I don't even know how many goals that have happened like that in the season."
Added Henry: "Benson is always in great position and she'll get any shot coming straight to her. Before the corner began, I said to myself that I was going to do anything I could to get a touch on the ball."
Ten minutes later, it was Henry and Ellis again. This time, Henry made a run down into the scoring circle on the right side. She passed the ball across the face of the goal, and Benson dove to deflect it out.
The ball ended up at Ellis' stick, and she flicked it in for an insurance goal.
Afterward, the teams had 10 minutes more to play, and the Tigers' defense stepped up to shut down a formidable Denison offense.
"Chelsea Cutler is a great player, and you have to maintain possession and stick-to-stick passes inside our offensive 25," said PJ Soteriades, Denison head coach. "On our corners, we struggled with the surface. That's not a cop-out, but execution is something that gets more challenging on a crazy surface."
Soteriades referred to the Bermuda grass field that was highly saturated from rain during the night and morning.
"We had to adjust to the surface and how that changes our style of play," she said. "We had to recognize which sides of the field were more playable."
While the Big Red struggled with the grass, time winded down.
"I think in the last five minutes, I probably looked at the clock a thousand times," Ellis said. "I was just waiting for it to go down."
When it did, the Tigers' bench ran onto the field and accepted the NCAC trophy minutes later.
"I'm so excited," Ellis said. "Sometimes it's like that dream that's so far out there and now it's happened."
DePauw outshot Denison 20-5 including a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Tigers also held a 10-5 edge in corners.
DePauw earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Div. III championship and will face the winner of Utica College (14-5) and Endicott College (15-4) Saturday at Middlebury College in Vermont.