Gorloks Heading North to Face Wheaton

The Webster University women's soccer team learned its postseason destination and opponent on Monday afternoon as the Gorloks will head to Wheaton, Ill., this weekend to compete in the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship that is being hosted by Wheaton College and held at Joe Bean Stadium.
 
The Gorloks, who earned the automatic bid from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference after its 1-0 win on Saturday over Greenville University in the championship match of the SLIAC Women's Soccer Tournament, will face Wheaton (Ill.) College (16-1-2) in the first round on Friday, Nov. 15 at 12 p.m. Wheaton earned one of the 20 at-large bids into the tournament after playing to a 0-0 draw in double overtime and falling 4-2 in penalty kicks to Augustana in the semifinals of the CCIW (College Conference of Wisconsin and Illinois) Tournament.
 
On the other side of the draw that Wheaton is hosting will feature 21st-ranked Case Western Reserve (13-5-0), who also earned an at-large bid out of the University Athletic Association (UAA) taking on the College of Wooster (14-2-3), who earned the automatic bid from the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) at 1:30 p.m. The winning team from each of the first-round matches on Friday will meet in the second round on Saturday, Nov. 16 for a 1 p.m. match.
 
Webster enters the NCAA Tournament having won six consecutive matches all of which have been shutouts as the Gorloks are sporting a 15-4-1 overall record and went 7-1-1 in the SLIAC to claim a share of its eighth consecutive regular-season league title. The Gorloks were one of 43 teams that won their conference tournament to earn an automatic bid to this year's NCAA Tournament.
 
The NCAA Tournament bid is the 14th in school history and first since 2017 when the Gorloks fell in the first round at Loras College. The Gorloks are 2-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as they played in the second round in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
 
Webster and Wheaton will be facing each other in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time on Friday afternoon and the first time since 2013 when the Thunder picked up a 4-0 win in the first round at Joe Bean Stadium. The two teams also met in 2002, 2005 and 2012.

Admission for each day is for $6 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens, $2 for ages 3-12. Children under three-years-old will be admitted for free. No free passes will be accepted.
 
The winner of the regional hosted by Wheaton, will advance to face the winner of the regional hosted by Saint Thomas (Minn.) in the sectional round, which is scheduled for Nov. 22-24. The Division III National semifinals and championship match are scheduled for Dec. 6-7 at UNCG Stadium in Greensboro, N.C. 

Complete Wheaton (Ill.) Regional schedule
Friday, November 15 - First Round
Game 1 - Wheaton (16-1-2) vs. Webster (15-4-1), 11 a.m.
Game 2 - Case Western Reserve (13-5-0) vs. Wooster (14-2-3), 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 16 - Second Round
Game 3 - Round 1 winners, 1 p.m. 

STORY COURTESY OF WEBSTER UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION