Eight Is Great For Webster Women's Soccer
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The number is eight is great for the Webster University women's soccer team as they won their 8th SLIAC Tournament title in program history, defeating Fontbonne University in the championship game 2-1 on Friday night.
Webster appearing in their fifth consecutive SLIAC Tournament Championship game was the #1 seed in this year's tournament after going 9-0 in conference play. They squared off against cross-town rival and #2 seed Fontbonne University, who was making their first championship game appearance since 1996.
Although the program was playing for their first conference championship in 20 years it was the Griffins of Fontbonne that came out strong. Ellen Weaver raced past two Gorlok defenders, lifting the ball over the Gorlok keeper at the 2:38 mark of the game, after receiving a pass that split the defenders.
Despite the early goal the two teams took to testing each other's defense with a physical battle that involved a combined 27 fouls in the game. The ball was batted about for the majority of the remaining time in the half, with numerous battles for the ball in the air.
Eventually the Gorloks were able to break through late in the first-half when Brianna Pagan found the ball at her feet in the box. After a cross into the box was knocked down by the defense Pagan put the ball into the net with just over one-minute left in the half to send the two teams into half-time tied at 1-1.
The experienced Gorloks took control of the second-half, out shooting the Griffins 6-2 in the final 45-minutes. Webster took the lead at the 61-minute mark when Kayla Dye buried a shot off a pass from Allison Ferguson.
Fontbonne managed just two shots in the second-half as their offense was unable to get anything set up in the Gorlok zone. Webster out shot Fontbonne 15-3 in the game and held a 7-0 edge in corner kicks. Fontbonne's Tayler Pulvirenti made six saves in the loss while Alisa Coralic stopped two shots while playing the second-half and picked up the win.
Webster improves to 13-7 overall and earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The tournament field and pairings will be announced on Monday, November 7th at 12:30 p.m. You can watch the selection show HERE
Fontbonne falls to 12-7-2 overall this season.
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