2006 CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament
Nov. 1 & 4, 2006
Wheaton Women's Soccer NCAA Bound With 1-0 CCIW Tournament Win
WHEATON, Ill. -- Wheaton’s Sarah Richardson tallied her team’s only goal of the afternoon, but it was enough to carry her team to a 1-0 victory over Augustana in the championship game of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW ) Women's Soccer Tournament Saturday.
With the win, the Thunder earned the CCIW’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament. Pairings will be announced by the NCAA on Monday, Nov. 6.
Under the new format adopted by the CCIW soccer coaches for the 2006 season, the winner of the CCIW Tournament earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament instead of the regular season champion as was the case in past years.
Richardson scored an unassisted goal at 45:31 as Wheaton outshot Augustana 28-8. The goal was Richardson’s 17th on the year.
Augustana goalie Keri Hess made 10 saves while her Wheaton counterpart, Kristin Eggert tallied seven saves on the day.
2006 CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament Preview
NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- In a battle of the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament, No. 1 Wheaton will play host to No. 2 Augustana on Saturday, Nov. 4 for a 4:30 p.m. championship game that will determine who earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Augustana topped Wheaton 2-1 on Sept. 23 to hand the Thunder their only conference loss of the season. Wheaton has not lost or tied a game since, going 11-0 in that span. Augustana's Tessa Roberts scored both goals in the victory as the Vikings are currently on a 14-game unbeaten streak.
Wheaton is coming off a 3-0 win over Carthage on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The Thunder earned the right to host after the Augustana men defeated North Park on Tuesday, Oct. 31. In the CCIW, the soccer tournament championship game rotates every year between the highest remaining men's seed and the highest remaining women's seed after the semifinal games.
Sarah Richardson scored two goals for Wheaton, both on assists from Lauren Koontz. Taryne Lee scored the other in the semifinal win.
Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan played to a 3-3 draw in its semifinal game, however, Augustana came away with the victory by winning the battle of the penalty kicks, 7-6. Anna Carey scored the clinching goal to earn the Vikings the victory and a chance at winning the tournament title.
Immediately following the championship match, the Wheaton and Augustana men's soccer teams will face each other in its tournament championship to decide who will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2006 CCIW Women's Soccer Tournament Preview (Semifinal Games)
Carthage vs. Wheaton: Carthage and Illinois Wesleyan finished tied for third place in the CCIW standings with a 4-1-2 record, but Illinois Wesleyan received the higher seed due to the point-differential tiebreaker. Wheaton comes into the game at 6-1-0 with the Thunder’s only loss coming against Augustana earlier this season. The first place finish earned Wheaton its 12th straight conference title.
Carthage and Wheaton faced each other on Oct. 25 with the Thunder coming away with a 2-0 victory over the Lady Reds. Freshman Maria Della Torre and Sarah Richardson each scored a goal for Wheaton in the victory as the Thunder out shot their counterparts 12-4 in the game.
Wheaton’s Taryne Lee is the conference’s leading goal-scorer with eight (1.14 average in seven conference games). Carthage goalkeeper Lindsey Bollmann is second in conference games in saves with 5.71 a game and two shutouts. Wheaton’s Laura Koontz averaged 1.29 assists in seven conference games.
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Augustana: A second place finish in the CCIW earned Augustana the No. 2 seed after finishing the season with a 5-0-2 record, including a victory over No. 1 seed and nationally ranked Wheaton earlier this season.
Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan played to a 0-0 tie on Oct. 25. Both goalkeepers are currently one and two in shutouts during the conference season as Illinois Wesleyan’s Emily Castner has five shutouts this season for an average of 0.71 a game, while Keri Hess of Augustana is second with four shutouts for an average of 0.57 a game.
Tessa Roberts of Augustana, a first-team all-conference pick a year ago, is having another strong season with seven goals in seven conference games, while Illinois Wesleyan’s Caroline Leighton, a second-team all-conference pick a year ago, is third in goal scoring with six. Augustana’s Lauren Polock is second to Koontz of Wheaton with four assists in seven conference games.
