LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Southwestern University hosts the 2012 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer championship tournament, Friday-Sunday, Nov. 2-4 at the Southwestern Soccer Field on the campus of Southwestern University. Official Tournament Website
Trinity University (No. 5 NSCAA/ No. 6 D3soccer.com) comes into the SCAC tournament as the event's top seed. As the No. 1 seed the Tigers (12-1-2, 8-0-0 SCAC) drew a bye into the semifinals and will await the winner of the Austin College/Centenary College match.
Trinity looks for its fourth consecutive SCAC championship and the program's 17th SCAC title. The Tigers are 8-0-1 record in their last 10 games and figure to be the tournament's favorite. The Tigers rank first or second in the SCAC in a number of statistical categories including goals/game (4.67 - first), assists/game (4.07 - first), points/game (13.40 - first) and shots/game (29.67 - first)
Individually, junior forward Shelby Guenthardt and sophomore midfielder Emily Jorgens lead a deep and talented Trinity attack. The duo were each named SCAC Offensive Player of the Week during the season. The duo are tied for the team lead with 31 points. Guenthardt has scored 15 goals on one assist while Jorgens tallied eight goals and 15 assists. Additionally, Kelsey Falcone and Stephanie Segovia (both were named SCAC Offensive Player of the Week) totaled 28 and 23 points respectively. All told, Trinity boasts a total of nine players who scored at least 10 points during the regular season.
Defensively the Tigers are just as strong, if not stronger.
Trinity tallied an incredible 10 shutouts in their 15 games. The
Tigers led the SCAC with 10 shutouts, a 0.51 goals against average
and allowed a league low eight goals during the season. Lance Key Interview
The University of Dallas (11-7-1, 4-3-1 SCAC) earned the No. 2 seed via its 1-0-1 record against Southwestern and looks for its first ever SCAC championship in its first SCAC tournament appearance. The Crusaders will play Southwestern in the second semifinal on Saturday.
Offensively, the Crusaders are led by junior forward Claire Sexton and senior midfielder Marin Chambers. Sexton, the SCAC Offensive Player of the Week selection in Week 2, totaled team-highs in goals (nine) and points (22) while ranking third on the team with four assists. Chambers was second on the team with 21 points (eight goals, five assits). Sexton and Chambers ranked fifth and sixth in the SCAC, respectively, in points.
The Dallas defense produced six shuts and posted a goals against average of 2.18 (fourth in SCAC). Junior Brigid Hasson posted a 2.08 goals against average and a .748 save percentage. Kristina Corona Interview
Southwestern University (6-10-2, 4-3-1 SCAC) enters its first SCAC tournament as the No. 3 seed and will meet Dallas in the second semfinal on Saturday. Southwestern and Dallas both finished 4-3-1 in conference play. Dallas earned the No. 2 seed via its 1-0-1 head-to-head record against Southwestern. The Pirates enter the tournament with a 5-3-2 record in their last 10 games and will be looking for their first SCAC women's soccer championship.
Junior midfielder Lindsay Jakszta figures to pace the Southwestern attack. She led the team with 11 points (five goals, one assists) and tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals. Junior forward Paige Duggins (three goals) and senior midfielder Chelsea Letzer (two goals, two assists) each totaled six points.
The Pirate defense ranked second in the SCAC with eight shutouts. Southwestern also was third in the league with a 1.97 goals against average. Senior goalkeeper Sarah Nonaka ranked second in the SCAC with a 1.73 goals against average and a .750 save percentage. Nonaka was the Week 5 SCAC Defensive Player of the Week. Jenè Backlawski Interview
Austin College (5-11-2, 3-5-0 SCAC) enters the 2012 SCAC tournament as the No. 4 seed and will play Centenary in Friday's only quarterfinal match. The Kangaroos will be making their first ever appearance in the SCAC tournament.
Austin College will be led by senior midfielder Ariel Marder and junior midfielder Abby Saizow. The duo combined for 19 of Austin College's 43 points (44.2 percent) during the season.
Marder totaled two goals and six assists (10 points) while
Saizow tallied four goals and one assist (nine points).
Defensively, the Kangaroos ranked second in the league with a 1.87
goals against average and was third in the league with its 5.44
saves per game. Goalkeeper Emily Brockette was fourth in the SCAC
with a 2.12 goals against average.
Paul Burns Interview
Centenary College (5-9-1, 0-8-0 SCAC) will be competing in its first ever SCAC tournament. The Ladies enter the championsip as the No. 5 seed and will play Austin College in the only quarterfinal on Friday.
Look for sophomore defender Carly Slovensky and first-year forward Madison Alexander to pace the Crusader attack. Slovensky led the team with seven goals (14 points) while Alexander scored five goals and totaled two assists (12 points). Defensively, the Ladies will rely on sophomore goalkeeper Brittaney Dunn. Dunn Kerin posted the fifth best goals against average (2.39) in the SCAC this season while also tallying the fourth best save percentage (.735) in the league. Glenn Evans Interview
This weekend's event marks the first time the SCAC tournament will be contested at Southwestern.
Admission is free for all four games (See schedule below). Live video streaming and live stats will be
available for all five games.
Friday's quarterfinal begins at 5 p.m. (local time), and the
championship match is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday. The tournament
champion earns the league's automatic NCAA berth.
| Friday, Nov. 2 | |||
| 6 p.m. | Game 1 | #4 Austin College vs. #5 Centenary College | |
| Saturday, Nov. 3 | |
||
| 5 p.m. | Game 2 | #1 Trinity University vs. Winner Game 1 | |
| 7:30 p.m. | Game 3 | #2 University of Dallas vs. #3 Southwestern University | |
| Sunday, Nov. 4 | |||
| 1 p.m. | Championship | Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner |
