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[Tournament Page]

RIPON, Wis. – St. Norbert serves as host for the 2013 Midwest Conference (MWC) Women’s Soccer Tournament which is set to kickoff November 8-9, 2013 in De Pere, Wis. The Green Knights captured their ninth MWC Championship this season and are joined by Monmouth, Lake Forest, and Grinnell in the tournament field.

Monmouth and Lake Forest open tournament play on Friday at Schneider Stadium at 11:00 a.m. in the first semifinal match while St. Norbert hosts Grinnell at 2:00 p.m. The winners of those two semifinal matches will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday for the tournament title which will earn the winning team the MWC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Earlier this season St. Norbert defeated Grinnell 1-0 on October 27 while Monmouth and Lake Forest played to a 1-1 tie on October 26.

St. Norbert earned hosting duties for the tournament for the second time in the past three years with an 8-2-0 league record and a 12-4-2 overall record. The Green Knights last won a MWC Tournament in the 1997 season and aim to do so behind one of the top offenses in the league led by one of the nation’s best goal scorers. Katie Vanden Avond set conference records for both career points and goals in a season this year as she scored 32 goals and accumulated 71 points in the process. Vanden Avond was held scoreless in only three contests this season while scoring multiple goals in 10 matches including 12 goals in her last six games. Kaitlin Schmitz added seven goals and eight assists while Zoe Kurth scored six goals with five assists to add to a Green Knights offense that tallied 59 goals in the regular season. Sarah Platzer headlines the defense as she posted a 1.24 goals against average and a .747 save percentage in 18 starts where she allowed only 20 goals.

Monmouth is in the MWC Tournament for the third time in the past four seasons and is playing for the school’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Fighting Scots led the league this year with 64 goals while posting 177 points which is better than 10 points per game. Lauren Kellen headlined the offensive charge with 21 goals and 47 points which are both third in the MWC. Andrea Correa is second on the team in both goals (eight) and assists (seven) while Allie DeArvil added seven goals and four assists during the season. Along with a strong offense the Fighting Scots also finished second in the league allowing only 16 goals and posting nine shutouts. Samantha Barranco backstops the defense and posted a 0.91 goals against average while also having a .807 save percentage.

After earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament a season ago Lake Forest is back in the MWC Tournament for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons. Michelle Greenway led an offense that ranked third in the MWC in scoring (3.11 goals per game) as she was second in both goals (24) and points (52) during the regular season. Greenway has scored at least one goal in seven of her last eight games which included four hat tricks. Holly Lesperance compliments Greenway on the offensive end as she posted 23 points (10 goals, five assists) while Nina Perkkio had five goals and five assists on the season. Defensively Rachel Tenuta has started 16 games this season and posted a 1.37 goals against average with a .747 save percentage that included three shutouts.

Grinnell qualified for the MWC Tournament for the third straight season and is in search of its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2006. Grinnell earned a spot in the tournament on the backs of a strong defensive group that allowed only 13 goals in 18 games which translated into a 0.70 team goals against average. Grinnell has shutout its opponent 10 times this season and has surrendered only two goals in the final eight games. Offensively Patty Murphy-Geiss led the team with seven goals and five assists while Nora Sahel found the back of the net five times on only 10 shots. Eva Smith also collected double-digit points (10) with three goals and four assists as the Pioneers had 15 different players score a goal this season.

To view the MWC Women’s Soccer Tournament page please [click here].