FULTON, Mo. - After getting knocked out of the playoffs last year at the hands of Stephens, no. 2 seed William Woods came into Monday's semifinal match with a sense of purpose, and after handing the Stars a 7-0 defeat less than a week prior, a strong level of confidence. And despite the sixth-seeded Stars riding the momentum of a quarterfinal upset, Woods (9-7-3) dispatched Stephens (4-11-1) by a 2-0 scoreline.

Stephens came into the match slightly less shorthanded than in the teams' previous meeting, as Sofia Ramos - the lone goalkeeper on the Stars roster - returned from serving a red card suspension. Ramos's presence was certainly felt, as she was able to turn away a pair of WWU efforts in the early going. Cindy Gonzales saw her shot in the 11th minute saved by the Stars netminder, as did Sydney Balducci in the 19th.

In the 21st minute, WWU earned a golden opportunity to break the match open, as Stephens was whistled for a handling violation in the top of the penalty area, as a loose ball popped up in a crowd and was knocked toward the sideline by a Stars defender. Junior Sam Poehlmann confidently stepped up to take the kick, sending Ramos diving to the wrong side as she side-footed it into the right corner of the goal.

Woods nearly doubled its lead in the 29th minute as Lauren Helmert's shot was deflected wide for a corner kick. Hanna Loethen connected on the inswinger but her effort was saved by Ramos.

The Owls opened the second half with a flurry of corner kicks, earning three in short succession around the 50th minute, but were unable to connect on any of them. The first corner was cleared immediately across the line by Stephens. On the second, Zoe Hargis had a shot blocked then saw her rebound effort cleared wide, with Gonzalez unable to squarely hit her shot on the third.

Gonzalez connected on a much better effort in the 61st minute, as she had Ramos beaten as the keeper followed the cross from the front post, but a Stars defender managed to get a foot in front of Gonzalez's shot and keep the match at 1-0.

As Stephens saw its season nearing an end and started chasing an equalizer, the match built to a frenetic pace. As the defensive pressure stepped up on both sides, counterattacks became the primary look on offense. Woods still found itself on the front foot overall, but was unable to find the insurance goal.

In the 85th minute, the frenetic pace finally boiled over, as Stephens' Allison Glenn was whistled for a foul and booked. On the ensuing restart, WWU looked to send Chloe Overkamp on goal with a through ball, but as the AR raised his flag for offside, Overkamp was clattered into by Sydney Castelli and collided with an onrushing Ramos.

After a short delay to check on Overkamp's condition, Stephens was awarded the free kick for the offsides violation, but Castelli was also shown yellow for causing the collision. Woods immediately righted the awkward situation, however, forcing a turnover as the ball was put into play. Hargis took the ball into the right corner and cut back to send a cross into the middle. Poehlmann redirected the cross in stride for Mackenzie Boyle, who sent it back across goal into the side netting.

Stephens continued to press over the remaining four minutes, but Woods held on for the clean sheet. The Owls return to the AMC Tournament Championship match for the 13th time in program history, and the first since 2019. Woods will travel to face no. 1 seed Columbia at 6 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 9.