INDIANAPOLIS - This weekend, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference 2013 Women’s Soccer Championships will open up with the Quarterfinal round on Saturday, November 2. The first four games of the Tournament, which will take place at four different sites, will feature the top four seeds hosting their first round opponents in what could shape up to be some very difficult matchups for all the top seeds.

Kicking off the action will be #2 Davis and Elkins hosting #7 Salem International at Noon. The game will be the third-straight meeting between the two teams, as D&E and Salem played their last two regular-season games against each other, with the Senators taking both meetings.

#4 Ursuline will host #5 Trevecca Nazarene at 1:00 p.m. in a rematch of last season’s Women’s Soccer Championship Finals, won by TNU in Nashville. The top overall seed Cedarville will host #8 Ohio Valley at 3:00 p.m. with #3 Alderson Broaddus welcoming #6 Kentucky Wesleyan for a 6:30 p.m. start.

The top remaining seed after the quarterfinals will host the remainder of the Championships - semifinals and finals - on Thursday, November 7 and Saturday, November 9. Check back to G-MACsports.com and the Women's Soccer Championship Page for recaps of all the weekend action, as well as a Men’s and Women’s Championship preview next week leading up to the semifinals. Also follow us on twitter at @GreatMidwestAC and @G_MACscores for pictures, updates, recaps and results.

QUARTERFINAL ROUND PREVIEW

#8 Ohio Valley University at #1 Cedarville University - 3:00 p.m. | Live Video/Audio | Live Stats
In what should be the easiest game to predict of the weekend, normally the #1 vs. #8 is the potential lopsided victory for the top overall seed. However, despite the difference in records - Cedarville (13-5-0, 9-1-0) and Ohio Valley (2-12-3, 1-9-0) - the two teams played to a 1-0 result earlier this season in their only meeting. The game’s only goal came from the G-MAC’s leading scorer and one of the nation’s best, Jacoby Ziegler in the first half. The Lady Jackets outshot OVU 15-9, but gave up a lot of scoring chances as OVU recorded four corner kicks to Cedarville’s two.

As mentioned, Cedarville features one of the nation’s top scoring forwards, as Ziegler ranked as the nation’s leader in points and goals throughout most of the season, and currently ranks third in the nation in total points with 43 and third in total goals with 18.

Leading the way for Ohio Valley is Victoria Bruce and Amanda Simpson, who have five and four goals respectively; teaming up to score nine of the teams 13 total goals this season. The Fighting Scots will look to keep the game close early as a majority of their contests have been decided in the early moments of the game. In the team’s game against Cedarville, Ziegler scored the game’s only goal in the 20th minute of the game. On the season, OVU has been outscored 17-3 in the first half, but only 14-10 in the second half. Cedarville on the other hand has scored 28 goals in the first half and 20 in the second, allowing only seven goals in each of the halves.

#7 Salem International University at #2 Davis & Elkins College - 12:00 p.m. | Live Stats

In what will be the third meeting of these two teams in the last eight days, Davis and Elkins appears to be the favorite, winning both games this past week by a 2-0 and 4-1 score. In the first meeting at Salem, the teams went into half scoreless before Kaitlyn Buoni and Emma Davis each netted a goal to push the Senators to the win. Ashley Winkelspecht played almost 86 minutes of the combined shutout in goal, the team’s fifth shutout and extended its shutout streak to three straight.

In the rematch only a few days later in Elkins, WV, D&E scored twice, about a minute and a half apart, in the first half to take a 2-0 lead. The Senators extended the lead with a pair of goals in the second half. Their shutout streak looked as if it would continue, but Salem scored a goal with just one second left on the clock. The defensive streak covered a span of five games and 408 minutes and 40 seconds without allowing a goal.

Leading the way for the Senators is Laia Margenat Dordas, who has a team-high eight goals and 17 points. In the team’s 17 games this season, the combined overall score of the games is 25-24 with the advantage going to the opponent. However, 17 of the 24 goals scored by D&E have come in conference play, while allowing just 11. In comparison, Salem has scored just two conference goals and allowed 21.

 #6 Kentucky Wesleyan College at #3 Alderson Broaddus University - 6:30 p.m. | Live Video | Live Stats

Alderson Broaddus secured the #3 seed with a late run of success in conference, winning three of its final four conference games after starting 2-3-1. Among the two early wins, AB defeated its first round opponent Kentucky Wesleyan, at home, by a score of 3-1. In the game, the Battlers struck quick as Brooke Hunsaker scored in the third minute of the game on a corner kick from Valerie Barlow. Barlow helped provide some insurance on another corner, this time assisting on a goal from Brittany Minor.

KWC kept the game tight scoring just 58 second after they went down 2-0 on Katlyn Duke’s unassisted score. AB added a goal in the second half to secure with win. Shots were even (8-8), as were fouls (2-2). The advantage seemed to come on corners (5-2 AB), especially considering the Battlers scored two goals early off the corner kick.

The Panthers will be led by Paige Kramer, who also is among the nation’s best, ranking 34th in points, and fourth overall with her 11 assists. She helps lead an offense that is 34th in scoring in the nation. The strong offensive attack will go up against a strong Battler defense, which has posted five shutouts and has allowed only two goals in its last five games. The two goals came in 1-0 losses to Cedarville and Davis and Elkins, the top two seeds in the Championship Tournament.

#5 Trevecca Nazarene University at #4 Ursuline College - 1:00 p.m. | Live Audio

In a rematch of the 2012 Women’s Soccer Championship game, Ursuline this time will host Trevecca Nazarene. The Arrows and the Trojans have split the season series between the two, each winning of their home turf. Early in the season, TNU topped Ursuline 2-1, as Alex Hammond and Becky Bartos each scored to give the Trojans a 2-0 advantage before Ursuline’s McKenzie O’Brien scored in the 74th minute to tighten up the score.

Needing a win to secure home field advantage for the first round, Ursuline closed out the regular-season with a 3-0 win over TNU as Cassie Cripe scored her seventh, Sarah Jansing scored her first ever collegiate goal, and Vanessa Consiglio netted her 12th. The win ended a three-game conference losing streak for the Arrows.

Guiding the UC attack is the combination of Paige Rowan and Consiglio. Rowan has a team-high 13 goals, while Consiglio leads the way with 32 points. Consiglio ranks 14th in the nation with her 32 points and 14th with eight assists, while Rowan is just behind her in 17th with 31 points, but her 13 goals are 12th in the nation. In fact, only one of Consiglio’s eight assists has gone to someone other than Rowan.

For Trevecca, the balanced scoring and defense has guided a young team to its balanced 4-4-2 record in conference. On the roster, three players - Bartos, Anna Hoffman, and Brooke Gann - are tied for the team lead with just four goals each, and Hammond is just behind them with three goals. TNU has been shutout eight times on the year, but the scoring differences in their games throughout the season has been one goal a majority of the time. In 11 of the teams 17 games, TNU has won or lost by one goal. Additional they have posted two ties, and in all but two games in conference have they lost by more than a goal.