Westminster Men's Soccer Is Heading To The NCAA Tournament After 2-1 SLIAC Tournament Championship Win

The Westminster Blue Jays made history with their 2-1 win over Webster University in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament Championship game. The Blue Jays have appeared in 14 SLIAC Tournaments and can finally call themselves the SLIAC Tournament Champions and will head to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. The Blue Jays also tied for the 2013 SLIAC Title with Fontbonne and Webster, all with an 8-1 SLIAC record. 

The Blue Jays came in tonight seeking revenge on Webster for last year's championship game loss and their lone conference play loss this year. The Blue Jays scored just 44 seconds into the game off a penalty kick taken by sophomore Samuel Lopez (Honduras). Junior Jacob Appelbaum (St. Louis, Mo. /Westminster Christian) dribbled around a defender and took a shot that landed in the bottom left corner of the goal to put the Blue Jays up 2-0 in the 38th minute.

Webster scored a goal just 3 minutes into the second half, putting them right back into the game. Webster took five more shots on goal, but freshman keeper Raul Belman Romero (Celaya, Mexico) held down the goal; he ended the game with 8 saves. 

Senior Michael McDonough (St. Louis, Mo. /DeSmet) was named the SLIAC Tournament MVP. "McDonough has been the heart of our team all year long," commented Coach Bordelon when asked about the MVP. "He's been our leader throughout the course of the year."

At the conclusion of the championship game the All-Tournament team was announced. The following players earned All-Tournament honors: 

Zach Meyer, Fontbonne
Josh Schulz, Fontbonne
Thomas Crown, Greenville
Aaron Mulholland, Greenville
Jacob Stieb, Webster
Jeff Wallner, Webster
Alex Whalen, Webster
Drew Cook, Westminster
Michael McDonaugh, Westminster - MVP
Zach Moore, Westminster
Andrew Presnell, Westminster

COURTESY OF WESTMINSTER SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT