Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
 
LAKE FOREST, Illinois – Thanks to semifinal wins on Friday, Lake Forest College and Grinnell College will meet in the Midwest Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament championship on Saturday afternoon at Farwell Field.
 
Top-seeded Lake Forest earned a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded Ripon College, while #3 seed Grinnell took down second-seeded Beloit College 2-0.
 
In the first match of the day, the sides were deadlocked until the 19th minute when Peter Cirbo scored the go-ahead goal, unassisted, to give the Foresters the lead. Taking a 1-0 edge into the second half, Gustavo Machado’s tally in the 57th minute – combined with Cirbo’s second goal of the game at the 61:42 mark – gave Lake Forest all the breathing room it needed to advance to Saturday’s tournament final. LFC had a 17-5 advantage in shots and did not allow a shot on goal.
 
In match two, Grinnell and Beloit played to a scoreless draw after the first 45 minutes. However, it did not take the Pioneers long to find the back of the net in the second half. Grinnell got goals from Jaxon Willoughby and Oliver Northing two minutes apart in the 55th and 57th minutes, respectively, to open up a 2-0 cushion. The Pioneers had a 17-5 shot advantage, including a 10-4 lead in the second half.
 
Saturday’s final is set for 1 p.m. The winner receives the Midwest Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Lake Forest can earn its fourth consecutive MWC Tournament title (and fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid) with a win, while Grinnell is looking to appear in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.