Fresh off an exciting 3-2 win over Lyon College in the first round of the AMC Postseason Tournament, the William Woods University women's soccer team looks to continue its momentum on Monday in a semifinal matchup against no. 1 seed Park University. The match is set for a 1 p.m. kickoff from Julian Field in Parkville, Mo.
The Matchup
The Owls come into Monday's contest after battling back from one-goal deficits on two occasions against Lyon. WWU sits at 10-7-1 entering the match.
After earning the first-round bye, Park has been idle since last Wednesday, when they beat a short-handed Benedictine University at Springfield team 8-0.
On The Scoresheet
Junior
Jamie Palermo has been held off the scoresheet in just six of her 17 appearances on the year for the Owls, tallying either a goal or an assist in 10 matches on the year.
Balanced Attack
The Owls have three players who have struck for eight or more goals on the 2012 campaign. Junior
Jamie Palermo leads the team with 14 on the year, with senior
Stephanie Kirvan and freshman
Jordan McNamara each scoring eight.
National Rankings
William Woods makes a couple of appearances in the national rankings, holding down 26th in the NAIA in assists per game with a rate of 2.28. The Owls rank 27th in the country with 41 assists on the year and their goal total of 48 is good for 42nd on the year.
Individually,
Ashley Deckard is 17th in the country with 10 assists on the year.
Behind her recent tear,
Jamie Palermo has moved into the top 50 in a couple of categories. The junior is 36th in game-winning goals - with four - and her 14 goals on the season is good for 41st in the country.
Conference Rankings
The Owls finished the regular season ranked fourth in goals (45) and assists (39).
Individually, a number of Owls finished in the top 10 in the conference, with
Jamie Palermo leading the way, tied for fifth with three game-winning goals.
Jordan McNamara finished in a three-way tie for fifth with two winners on the season.
Kelly Abernathy posted the fourth-best goals-against average in the league with a 1.74 mark, also taking fifth in the league with 70 saves.
Ashley Deckard's nine assists earned her a three-way tie for fourth with Stephanie Hale and Rylee Bruhn, both from Columbia College. Palermo (T-7th) was joined by
Stephanie Kirvan and
Jordan McNamara (T-7th) on the scoring leaderboard with 11 and eight goals, respectively. Palermo bumped up a spot to sixth on the points list with her four assists giving her 26 points on the year.
Home Sweet Home
Opening the postseason at home has been very helpful for the Owls throughout the program's history. Since joining the American Midwest Conference in 1997, William Woods has played 13 opening round postseason tournament games in Fulton and is a perfect 13-0 in those contests. The Owls have outscored their opponents 61-8 in those 13 matches.
Putting The “Student-” First
Last Thursday,
Jamie Palermo and
Brittany Graue were announced as members of the College Division Capital One Academic All-District 5 Team. The Academic All-America program, sponsored by CoSIDA - the College Sports Information Directors Association - recognizes student-athletes who are standout performers both on the field and in the classroom.
To be eligible for nomination, student-athletes must have a 3.300 cumulative GPA and must be a significant contributor to the team. The all-district teams are selected in balloting of CoSIDA members, with the first team All-District selections from the eight districts moving on to the national ballot.
It is the second All-District team nod for Palermo, who picked up Third Team At-Large Academic All-America honors last season for women's golf. It is the first All-District nod for Graue.
A Look At Park
The Pirates finished the league slate at an undefeated 8-0, claiming the AMC championship, but they have only mustered a 10-6 overall record on the year, picking up just two wins in non-conference play.
Although Park ranks first in the NAIA in both goals per game (5.00) and assists per game (4.40), most of those have come at the expense of three teams. The Pirates posted double-digit goal totals against Friends University (12-1), Harris-Stowe State University (14-0) and Stephens College (22-0).
Juneille Watkins leads the Pirates with 19 goals, with Dana Hemmingsen adding 17 assists on the year.
