GAME STATS
Wheaton, Ill. – The CCIW Champion Wheaton women's soccer team played Illinois Wesleyan to a 2-2 tie on Saturday night in the CCIW Tournament Final. The two teams went to a shootout to determine the tournament champion and the recipient of the CCIW's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament.
\Wheaton won the shootout 7-6 as each team made its first six shots in the shootout. Sophomore
Dani DeLeon made Wheaton's seventh shot to put the Thunder up 7-6 in the shootout and Wheaton goalkeeper
Hilary Barreto made a stop on the Titans' seventh shot to secure the tournament title for the top-seeded Thunder.
Wheaton took and early 1-0 lead in the match when an
Erin Strom shot hit the crossbar and
Laura Karsten (PICTURED LEFT) collected the rebound and put it into the net, just 5:34 into the match. The Thunder held onto the 1-0 lead for the remainder of the first half.
A hand ball in the penalty box was called against the Thunder at the 55:54 mark of the match and the Titans' Molly O'Brien converted the penalty kick to tie the contest at 1-1. Wheaton responded quickly with a goal less than one minute later when a
Keri Shannon shot was deflected and rebounded to Thunder freshman
Anna Seabolt (PICTURED RIGHT) who put the ball into the net on a shot from about five yards out at the 56:26 mark. The Titans got the tying goal in the closing minutes of the regulation as O'Brien and Lauren Knaack found Emily Hinchman in front of the goal and Hinchman put it into the net at the 85:31 mark of the match for a 2-2.
Wheaton out-shot the Titans 5-2 in the first overtime, as the Thunder kept the pressure on the Titans with three saves by IWU netminder Renata Butikas. The top-seed out-shot the Titans 2-0 in the second overtime as Butikas made two more saves in the final overtime.
Wheaton out-shot the Titans 28-15 in the match, including a 7-2 edge in the two overtimes. Wheaton goalkeeper
Kelsey Graham played all 110 minutes of the match for the Thunder, with four saves and two goals allowed. Barreto was the Wheaton netminder in the shootout, making in the key save on the seventh kick. Butikas played all 110 minutes in the Titans' net, making 14 saves, with two goals allowed. Zoie Samaan was the IWU keeper during the shootout.
Tonight's victory assures Wheaton its 15
th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. Wheaton will find out when it will play and who it will play on Monday at 12:30 PM (CST) when the NCAA announces the tournament bracket in an online webcast at
www.ncaa.com.
