2011 NCAC Women's Soccer Tournament

2011 NCAC Women's Soccer Tournament

2011 NCAC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

Photo by Mike SerbanoiuPhoto by Mike Serbanoiu Photo by Mike SerbanoiuPhoto by Mike Serba

Ph{PPhoto by Mike Serbanoiu

Semifinal Recaps:
No. 1 seed Ohio Wesleyan (5-1-2, 11-4-4) advanced to the 2011 NCAC Tournament championship match after defeating fourth-seeded Kenyon (4-3-1, 11-7-1), 1-0, in a semifinal contest on Tuesday night at Roy Rike Field in Delaware, Ohio. With the scored tied, 0-0, after one half of play, OWU junior midfielder Jessie Huschart (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson) launched in a shot from 30-yards out for the games' only score in the 49th minute. Kenyon did apply constant pressure on the OWU defensive unit throughout the evening as the Ladies fired off 14 shots in the match; however, Battling Bishop junior goalie Hannah Zacharias (Marysville, OH/Marysville) corralled seven saves to help secure the victory for OWU. With the win, the Battling Bishops will now host Saturday's NCAC Tournament championship match at 7:30 p.m. at Roy Rike Field against the winner of Wednesday's semifinal match between No. 2 Alllegheny and No. 3 Wooster.

Second-seeded Allegheny (5-1-2, 11-4-3) defeated fourth-seeded Wooster (4-1-3, 9-7-3) in Wednesday afternoon's semifinal match in Meadville, Pennsylvania, by a 3-0 decision. With the win, the Gators will advance to Saturday's NCAC Tournament championship match where they will take on top-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (5-1-2, 11-4-4) at Roy Rike Field in Delaware, Ohio, at 7:00 p.m. After a scoreless first half of action, Allegheny's offense came to life late in the second half as they netted three goals in an eight-minute span en route to securing the the three-goal victory. Junior Katrina Gazsi (Lititz, PA/Warwick) sparked the scoring spurt with a goal in the 73rd minute, followed by tallies from junior Dayna Rowe (Pittsgrove, NJ/Schalick) in the 76th minute and junior Ashley Lehr (Fairfiew, PA/Fairfiew) in the 81st minute. Allegheny senior Emily Karr (Wexford, PA/Pine-Richland) and Wooster junior Michele Ring (Northville, MI/Ladywood) each finished the match with four saves in goal for their respective teams.

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Ohio Wesleyan (5-1-2, 10-4-4) and Allegheny (5-1-2, 10-4-3) finished the regular season as co-champions in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Battling Bishops now lead the league with nine titles all-time, followed by Denison (8), Allegheny (7), Wooster (5), Kenyon (1) and Wittenberg (1).

Ohio Wesleyan will enter the 2011 NCAC Tournament as the top seed after picking up a 2-0 triumph over Allegheny in the regular season finale on Saturday. The Battling Bishops will host fourth-seeded Kenyon (4-3-1, 11-6-1) in a semifinal contest at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday evening. OWU earned a 2-0 triumph over the Ladies in Gambier in the regular season meeting between the two squads on October 19th. The other semifinal contest will feature second-seeded Allegheny hosting third-seeded Wooster (4-1-3, 9-6-3) at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon in Meadville. The two squads battled to a 0-0 draw in their regular season meeting on October 5th in Ohio. The championship match is set for Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round.

Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament ... Ohio Wesleyan enters with the most tournament titles all-time with five with its recent coming in the 2005 season, while Allegheny, Kenyon and Wooster are all in search of their first NCAC Tournament crown ... The Battling Bishops, who are making their eighth appearance in the conference tournament, return to the field of four for the first time since 2007 after qualifying for seven out of the first eight tournaments ... Allegheny locked up a spot in the tournament field for the fourth-consecutive season and ninth all-time. The Gators qualified for the conference tournament in its first give years of existence, but went on a three-year drought before returning to the field and starting its current streak in the 2008 season ... Wooster is making its sixth tournament appearance all-time and second in a row after earning the top seed in the field of four a year ago ... Kenyon returns to the conference tournament for the first time since the 2007 season and the fourth all-time ... Should the Ohio Wesleyan men and women both advance to the championship game of their respective tournaments, the men would play first, followed by the women (rotation set by even or odd years).