Official G-MAC Championship Page
Tournament Bracket (PDF)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – An automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional is at stake as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals get ready to take place on Thursday.
What started out as a six-team bracket has been trimmed down to four following Saturday’s quarterfinal results.
Top seed and tournament host Trevecca Nazarene and No. 2 Ursuline both earned the first-round byes while No. 4 Davis & Elkins and No. 6 Malone each earned the right to advance.
The first semifinal will start at 5 p.m. CST with a matchup between Malone and Ursuline. Trevecca Nazarene will play Davis & Elkins under the lights after with a 7:30 p.m. CST estimated kickoff.
The first team brunch/banquet will also take place at 10:30 a.m. CST tomorrow morning while the all-conference team is officially unveiled to the student-athletes.
Thursday’s semifinals and Saturday’s championship game will include video streaming with audio commentary and live stats.
Malone is coming off momentum from overtime after toppling No. 3 Cedarville in opening-round play. Current G-MAC Offensive Player of the Week Kirsten Hilty scored the first goal while Kaela Kovanda delivered the final blow past regulation.
G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week Haleigh Seman was also recognized for her efforts in net as head coach Josh Jones has his squad peaking at the right time.
The Pioneers face their next challenge with Ursuline, the 2015 tournament runner-up and 2014 conference champs. The Arrows bested Malone in the first meeting of the regular season, but this will be Ursuline’s first game since falling to Malone in the regular-season finale.
Ursuline freshman Jill Bohling has emerged as a top offensive threat with veteran Cassie Cripe. Senior goalkeeper Helen Jazzar is the all-time winningest netminder in conference history and is battle tested in pressure-packed situations.
The Arrows have been knocking on the door to the national tournament either for the AQ or an at-large spot, and they would love nothing more than to seal the deal this fall.
Davis & Elkins locked down No. 5 Kentucky Wesleyan in the quarterfinals and gets ready to face Trevecca Nazarene where the Trojans are the most comfortable – at home.
The Senators and Trojans split their regular-season meetings and it’s fair to expect another really tight contest that could go down to the wire in this one. Another first-year head coach in the league along with Malone’s Jones has been Meghan Gill with D&E.
Sophomores Katrina Giantsopoulos and Lauren Hill have each earned conference weekly honors and have been building blocks for the program’s foundation for success from day one.
The Trojans will be making their debut in this year's postseason riding an emotional high with four straight wins under head coach Mark Foster. TNU has had 11 total shutouts this season on defense as Sophie Callis, Abbie Alosi and Liz Denton, have all earned conference weekly defensive accolades.