Championship Bracket (PDF)
DAYTON, Ohio – Down to the final four in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Championship, finalists emerged on Saturday at Roger Glass Stadium during the second-round of the postseason.
No. 2 seed Walsh and No. 4 Ohio Dominican each carved out their own path to the title game, where an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship awaits the winner of this year’s conference tournament.
The Great Midwest Championship final will be played on Saturday at noon ET.
The first team to lock in a date for Saturday’s championship matchup was No. 2 seed Walsh as the Cavaliers fended off a resilient effort from No. 3 Cedarville in overtime.
Walsh’s Brianna Sanborn, the 2018 Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year, came through after regulation with the golden goal off a corner kick by all-conference forward Olivia Peters.
Peters, the most recent league offensive player of the week, continued her torrid play coming into the second round of the playoffs after scoring three goals in two games to end the regular season and start the quarterfinals.
The senior forward scored earlier in the game to give Walsh a temporary lead that was neutralized by Cedarville’s Olivia Hoffman. Just a sophomore, Hoffman was also named to the all-conference team last night as a second team selection.
The Cavaliers came into the conference tournament semifinals ranked No. 4 in the Midwest Region – today’s win enhances Walsh’s opportunity to make the tournament either with an AQ or at-large selection.
Walsh has thrived under first-year head coach Lauren Lewicki as the program went through a coaching change at the beginning of the preseason. The Cavaliers will be returning to the Great Midwest title game hoping to reverse last year’s outcome in a very close finish as runner-up to Ohio Valley.
Ohio Dominican served up an upset special in the second semifinal, eliminating the top seed and conference regular season champion Findlay Oilers.
Similar to how the winning goal was scored in the early game, the Panthers’ converted a successful corner kick opportunity as the ball glanced off the head of Ashley Story. Emily Wittekind placed it well in the box as the Panthers crowded the end line before dispersing.
ODU and Findlay matched up only once during the regular season, a 1-0 victory in overtime for the Oilers.
This time though, ODU was able to get redemption and qualify for the championship game for the first time since joining the Great Midwest as a member institution. For Findlay, the Oilers will still be comfortable on Selection Sunday as one of the highest ranked teams in the Midwest Region at No. 2.
Despite the semifinal defeat, Findlay’s season will most likely be extended by the national committee into the NCAA Midwest Regional.