By Michaela Alfano

For the Gazette

Senior attacker Nicole Klabus, a former Delaware Hayes standout, scored 5 goals and broke the Ohio Wesleyan career goals record, but a 6-0 Kenyon run in the second half extended the Owls’ lead and the visitors went on to a win 16-9 in a North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinal game on Wednesday at Selby Stadium.

Ohio Wesleyan took an early lead on a goal by senior midfielder Sophia DelGallo, but the Owls answered with Ella Rigoli finding the back of the net just over a minute later. Kate Lengel added 2 for Kenyon before Klabus was able to add a second for the Bishops.

The Bishops and Owls traded goals back and forth during the second quarter with Ohio Wesleyan outscoring Kenyon, 3-2, with all 3 goals coming from Klabus.

The second half started scoreless until the 7:44 mark, when Kenyon was able to add a score. Klabus found the back of the net once again, assisted by sophomore midfielder Sam Frary, who added a goal of her own 3 minutes later. Junior attacker Caroline Fleming put up another to bring the Bishops within 9-8 at the 2:12 mark, but Kenyon’s Spencer Kirsch scored with :22 left to make it a 2-point game, 8-10, heading into the final 15 minutes.

Five straight goals from Kenyon in the fourth quarter put the Bishops in a tricky spot as they tried to battle back. With 3:03 left on the clock, junior attacker Casey Conklin found the back of the net but the Owls added one more goal to seal their win.

Klabus led the Bishops with 5 goals, raising her career total to 160 to break the Ohio Wesleyan record of 159 set by Sloane Baumgartner from 2017-20. Klabus’ 5 goals also raised her career points total to 199, ranking fourth on the Ohio Wesleyan list.

Frary had a goal and 2 assists and DelGallo, Conklin, and Fleming had a goal each.

Sophomore midfielder Abbie Grogan collected 8 draw controls to raise her season total to 94, breaking the record of 92 set by Jenn Douglas in 2019. Junior Abby Markowitz was credited with 9 saves.