Top two seeds win in UMAC women's soccer tournament semifinals Wednesday
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Semifinal Wednesday of the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's soccer tournament saw the top two seeds win at home to set up a championship game between familiar foes No.1 College of St. Scholastica and No. 2 University of Northwestern Saturday.
The top-seeded Saints defeated No. 4 Martin Luther College 2-0 in the early game, while No. 2 Northwestern defeated No. 3 University of Wisconsin-Superior by the same score of 2-0 to set up Saturday's championship.
SEMIFINAL 1: No. 1 St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Martin Luther, 2-0 | Box Score |
Heading into the conference tournament, the Saints had yet to surrender a goal to a UMAC opponent this season – a first in program history. That trend continued as the No. 1 Saints ended the No. 4 Knights' postseason run with a 2-0 shutout performance.
Reigning UMAC Offensive Player of the Year Morgan Friday accounted for both Saints' goals in the victory and accounted for 10 of the team's total 25 shots. Friday got on the board early beating Mollie Fischer on a long shot in the 19th minute. Less than two minutes later Friday scored on a corner kick from Janelle Rouillard to make it 2-0.
The Saints never looked back and held their lead through the remainder of the game with keeper Alexa Gothard making just one save in the shutout win. Fischer tallied six saves in the loss for the Knights with Erika Rosenbaum credited with the team's only shot.
The Knights' finish the regular season with a 8-10-1 overall record after winning in overtime Monday to advance to the semifinal round for the first time in the UMAC five-team playoff format.
SEMIFINAL 2: No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior, 2-0 | Box Score | Photos |
In the previous meeting this season between No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior, the higher-seeded Eagles scored just once and it didn't come until the second half. It was a different story Wednesday as the Eagles scored twice early to take a 2-0 lead and never looked back en route to victory.
Last year's tournament MVP Emily Currie tallied both goals for the Eagles and led the team offensively. The junior got the Eagles on the board first in 12th minute when she converted on a penalty kick attempt. She then recorded the second goal in the 29th minute on a set up from Anna Welch.
In the win, the Eagles out shot the Yellowjackets 21-3 with Currie tallying a team-best four shots on goal. Ellie Fryer earned the shutout win in goal making one save. For the Yellowjackets, Annah Schussman picked up two shots including the lone on goal. 'Jacket keeper Madison Gutekunst stopped 10 shots in goal.
The Yellowjackets finish the regular season 7-11-2 after making their second-consecutive tournament appearance and semifinal.
This marks the third-straight tournament championship game appearance for the Eagles and the second time in three years that the Eagles and Saints will meet in the tournament championship. The Saints won the previous championship matchup 2-1 over the Eagles on the road in 2017.
The UMAC championship game will be set for 1 p.m. Saturday as No. 1 St. Scholastica hosts No. 2 Northwestern in Duluth. The winner will earn the UMAC postseason title and the conference's automatic qualifier to the NCAA championship.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinal Round – Monday, Nov. 4
No. 4 Martin Luther def. No. 5 Bethany Lutheran, 2-1 OT |
Box Score |
BLC Recap |
MLC Recap |
Semifinal Round – Wednesday, Nov. 6
No. 1 S; St. Scholastica def. No. 4 Martin Luther, 2-0 |
Box Score |
CSS Recap |
MLC Recap |
No. 2 Northwestern def. No. 3 Wisconsin-Superior, 2-0 |
Box Score |
UNW Recap |
UWS Recap |
Championship – Saturday, Nov. 9
No. 2 Northwestern at No. 1 St. Scholastica; Duluth, Minn., 1 p.m. |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
TICKET INFORMATION
- Adults, $10
- College students and seniors, $5
- Youth (Age 6-18), $5; age 5 and under, FREE
- Any UMAC students, faculty and staff are free with a valid and current institutional ID. No other passes will be accepted.
Tournament Championship Page