Posted: Oct 31, 2018

Greenville and Westminster Set Up For Historic Championship Game

For just the second time in conference history, the two lowest seeds of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament have advanced to the championship game. The night of upsets began when #4 seeded Greenville University scored in double overtime to knock out top-seeded Webster University. Westminster College, the #3 seed, then followed by advancing in penalty kicks against #2 seed Fontbonne University.

Inside the Game - #4 Greenville vs. #1 Webster - BOX SCORE
The two teams played much of the first half in the middle of the field with just 11 combined shots in the first 45-minutes of play. However, it was Greenville that found the back of the net just before halftime. The Panthers had a set piece and drove the ball into the box where Megan Taylor finished the ball with a header to put the Panthers on the board. Webster turned up the pressure in the second half, getting off 11 shots but Panther keeper Marjory Coates came up big on several of those shots. The Gorloks eventually tallied the equalizer at the 85th minute when Nicole Bascio scored. The two teams would head into overtime where Jade Taylor netted the game-winner three-minutes in.

Greenville advances to their first SLIAC Women's Soccer Championship game since 2012.
Jade Taylor's game-winning goal was her first of the 2018 season.
The loss by Webster ends their 31 game winning streak against conference opponents.

Inside the Game - #3 Westminster vs. #2 Fontbonne - BOX SCORE
Fontbonne was hosting their third consecutive SLIAC tournament opening round game and wasted little time in taking the lead. Darby Schaefering scored in the 23rd minute after a shot by Daniele Caruso got away from the Blue Jays keeper. The Griffins defense stymied the Blue Jays in the first half, allowing just one shot. Fontbonne continued to pressure in the second half, sending nine shots towards the net but Westminster keeper Sarah Cradick stopped all five that went on net, keeping her team in the game. The Blue Jays finally cracked the Griffins defense at the 78th minute when Katherine Hammond buried a free kick from 20-yards out to even the score. The two teams tightened up their defenses as the game went on, remaining tied through two overtime periods forcing penalty kicks. Fontbonne got the jump in pk's but then missed their next two while Westminster connected on their next two shots to take control. With the kicks square at 2-2, Cradick stopped the Griffins fifth attempt to set up a goal and win situation for teammate Cara Wilfong. Wilfong buried her shot into the bottom right of the net to advance Westminster to the championship game.

This is the second time in three years for Fontbonne and second time in four years for Westminster for the teams to go into penalty kicks during the SLIAC Tournament.
Greenville has never won a SLIAC Women's Soccer Tournament.
Westminster's lone tournament title came in the 2015 season.

What is Next - Greenville vs. Westminster
As the highest remaining seed, Westminster will play host to Greenville in the 2018 SLIAC Women's Soccer Championship game on Friday, November 1. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Fulton, Missouri. Greenville and Westminster played to a scoreless tie during their regular season meeting back on October 20th. You can catch the game live on video stream thanks to CollegeCasts.