2012 Women's Soccer Tournament Preview

ST. LOUIS - After an elaborate three-way tiebreaker that resulted in a coin toss to determine the top three seeds in the 2012 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Women's Soccer Tournament, the field is finally set. Principia College holds the #1-seed for the fifth consecutive year, while Fontbonne University, Webster University and Greenville College complete the remainder of the field in the #2- through #4-seeds respectively. Semifinal action begins Wednesday, October 31, and the championship will be played on Friday, November 2.

Top-seeded Principia will host fourth-seeded Greenville at 4:30pm on Wednesday. Principia (10-6-1) went 7-1 in conference play this season, suffering their first regular season conference loss since the 2007 season. Greenville (9-8-1) was 5-3  in the conference, with their three losses at the hands of the top three seeded teams in the tournament, including a 2-1 loss versus Principia on October 13.

Second-seeded Fontbonne will host third-seeded Webster at 1:30pm on Wednesday. Fontbonne (10-8-0) went 7-1 in league play, with their lone loss a 2-0 defeat to Principia. Webster (14-5-0) also finished 7-1 in the conference, including a 1-0 overtime loss to Fontbonne on October 23.

Principia is 24-5-3 in 16 SLIAC women's soccer tournament appearances. Principia is the defending tournament champion after defeating Greenville 1-0 in the 2011 championship game. They have also won a women's soccer record nine tournament championships.

Fontbonne is 5-9-1 in 10 SLIAC women's soccer tournament appearances. The Griffins, whose share of the 2012 regular season conference title is the first in program history, have won one tournament championship in 1996 as the #2 seed. They have also made five conference tournament appearances in the past eight years.

Webster is 7-4-3 in eight SLIAC women's soccer tournament appearances. The Gorloks have claimed four tournament championships in the past seven years and also shared the 2012 regular season conference title along with Principia and Fontbonne. Their last tournament crown was in 2009 as the #2 seed, when they battled Principia to a 1-1 draw in double overtime. Webster then went on to win the title on penalty kicks, 5-4.

Greenville is 2-9-0 in nine SLIAC women's soccer tournament appearances. They advanced as the #3-seed in last year's tournament with a 2-1 victory over #2-seeded Webster in a semifinal match.

SLIAC Women's Tournament Bracket:
Semifinals (Oct. 31)
#3-Webster at #2-Fontbonne, 1:30pm
#4-Greenville at #1-Principia, 4:30pm
Championship (Nov. 2)
Semifinal winners, Site and Time TBA