FULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University women's soccer team returns to the field on Friday night for the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament Quarterfinals, as the Owls will host Benedictine University at Springfield. Kick-off will start at 7 p.m. from Firley Field.
The Owls (10-6-2; 8-1-2 AMC), are the No. 4-seed in the AMC Tournament, while the Bulldogs (10-6-2; 6-4-1 AMC) have earned the No. 5-seed. Columbia College earned the No. 1-seed and they will take on No. 8-seeded Lindenwood University-Belleville, while the other match-ups are No. 3-seeded Park University will host No. 6 Lyon College and No. 2 Missouri Baptist will host No. 7-seeded Hannibal-LaGrange.
The team closed out the regular season on a high note, as they won its final three games by a combined score of 10-1 and have only suffered one loss in its last eight games, which came against non-conference foe Central Methodist University back on October 23
rd.
The Owls are coming off a 2-0 shutout victory over Freed-Hardeman University in its last time out, giving WWU its eighth AMC victory on the season, which is a new program record.
The team got the scoring started at the 9:24 mark of the first half, as senior
Rachel Meyer scored her 10
th goal on the season, to give the Owls an early 1-0 lead. They would maintain its one goal advantage until halftime, as the Owls outshot the Lady Lions 15-2 through the first 45:00 minutes of play.
Then, just .47 seconds into the second half,
Jordan McNamara found the back of the net for the 13
th time this year, which is a new career-high for the Blue Springs, Missouri, native, and it gave the Owls a 2-0 lead.
William Woods went on to total 12 more shots, while FHU was limited to just three and the Owls held on for the two goal victory.
During its last eight games, the Owls have collected five shutouts and outscored its opponents 26-4. Leading the way has been Meyer, scoring eight goals and adding three assists on 22 shots, giving her 10 goals and seven assists on the year.
McNamara has played just as well, scoring seven goals on 32 shots, while
Sarah Krispin has added three and
Jamie Palermo,
Amy Faus and
Brittainy German have totaled two goals.
In net, reigning AMC Defensive Player of the Week,
Brittany Griffin, has made 32 saves in seven appearances, having a save percentage of .889 and a goals against average of .597 in 603:22 minutes played.
Those impressive statistics the last month, now give her 84 saves on the season, to go along with a save percentage of .702 and a goals against average of 1.39.
This will be the second meeting on the year between the Owls and Bulldogs, as during its last meeting back on October 18
th, William Woods won 1-0, thanks to McNamara scoring the game winner in the 56
th minute.
The Bulldogs closed out its regular season winning two of its final three games, as they picked up a 4-1 victory over Williams Baptist College on October 25
th and a 1-0 win over Freed-Hardeman.
On the season, BenU-Springfield is led by Lyndi Saccaro scoring a team-high 15 goals in 17 games, while adding three assists on 63 shots. Cathy Tram has scored eight goals, while Ashley Bensko is third on the team in goals (seven), but leads the Bulldogs with eight assists.
In goal, Lindsay Taylor has made 82 saves in 17 starts, allowing just 18 goals to go along with a save percentage of .820 and a goals against average of 1.23.
To view the entire AMC Tournament bracket, visit
HERE.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from Firley Field.
