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RIPON, Wis. – Lake Forest will serve as host for the 2012 Midwest Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament which is set to kickoff November 2-3, 2012 in Lake Forest, Ill. The Foresters captured its fourth MWC Championship this season and will be joined by St. Norbert, Monmouth and Grinnell.
Lake Forest will battle Grinnell in a semifinal match that will take place at Farwell Field on the Lake Forest campus beginning at 11 a.m. St. Norbert and Monmouth will also play its semifinal match at 11 a.m. on Friday and will play off campus at Waukegan Sports Park in Waukegan, Ill. The winners of those two semifinal matches will meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday for the tournament title which will earn the winning team the MWC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Lake Forest earned a MWC Championship for the first time since the 2004 season and will be playing for its first MWC Tournament title since the 2003 season when they host the 2012 MWC Tournament. The Foresters boast an offensively gifted team this season that lead the MWC in both points (148) and goals (52) in 18 games all while ranking second in the league in goals allowed (20) and team goals against average (1.09). Michelle Greeneway is one of five Foresters that scored ten or more points as she ranks fourth in points (35) and in a tie for fourth in goals (14). Holly Lesperance also scored 14 goals this season and tallied 33 points with six game winning goals. Lisa Sorensen, Anya Moran and Beck Esrock each have scored four goals during the regular season to balance out the Lake Forest scoring attack. Bri Schleibinger has started all 18 games for the Foresters and posted a 1.14 goals against average and a .804 save percentage while recording five shutouts.
St. Norbert earned a trip to Lake Forest with a second place finish in the MWC this season with a 12-3-3 overall record and look to avenge a loss in the tournament championship game in 2011. The Green Knights finished second in the league averaging 2.83 goals per game led by Katie Vanden Avond who led the league in both goals (25) and points (52). Vanden Avond posted a 25% shot percentage and led the league with seven game winning goals. Nicole Beine and Kaitlyn Schmitz each have scored five goals and added an assist while Brittany Kosobucki and Kellan Zimmer each have scored four goals on the season. Defensively St. Norbert has given up 25 goals in 18 games and has a 1.33 team goals against average. Sarah Platzer has played every game in net for the Green Knights and has a 1.31 goals against average and a .760 save percentage with three shutouts.
Monmouth returns to the MWC Tournament for only the third time since the tournament took the four seed format in 1997 and plays for the school’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history. Monmouth relied on strong defense and timely goal scoring to earn a 7-2-1 conference record and held opponents to zero or one goal in 13 games, going 9-1-3 in those contests. The Fighting Scots are playing some of their best soccer of the season entering the tournament as they rattled off six straight wins to end the regular season where they outscored their opponents 18-3 over that span. Lauren Kellen paces the Monmouth offense after she scored 17 goals and 36 points during the regular season which were both third in the conference. Ashley Reynoso talled 21 points with seven goals and seven assists while Alex Ivie was second in the MWC with ten assists. Samantha Barranco posted a 1.25 goals against average and .803 save percentage in net with five of her nine wins going for shutouts.
Grinnell earned a trip back to the MWC Tournament after a 3-0 win over Ripon on the final day of the regular season and beat out Carroll for the final spot thanks in part to a 1-0 win over Carroll early in September. The Pioneers led the MWC with seven tournament championships and are playing for their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 2006 season. Kathryn Vincent and Patty Murphy-Geiss lead Grinnell from an offensive standpoint as each of them have scored five goals and 11 points this season. Dabney Hofammann is third on the team with eight points (three goals, two assists) while teammate Maddie Gray has chipped in three goals. Jordan Young is the backbone of the Pioneers defense after posting a 1.42 goals against average and a .722 save percentage.