2016 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Bracket    |    2016 NCAA IWU First, Second Round Web Site

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Making its ninth overall NCAA Division III tournament appearance, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team will host Hanover College (Ind.) in the first round of the Division III tournament at Neis Field at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The Titans are 12-5-3 and earned the automatic bid of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin into the 64-team NCAA championships. This marks the fourth consecutive tournament appearance for IWU. In 2016 the Titans outscored opponents 34-21. Senior Skyler Tomko is the leading scorer for IWU with nine goals, including eight in her last eight matches, and also leads the team with 20 points. Senior Alison Seger ranks second on the team in goals scored and first in assists. Seger scored six goals while assisting on seven in her final season as a Titan. In goal, sophomore Katie Denney enjoyed a rock-solid conference schedule in which she allowed just six goals. Denney owns a .92 goals against average in 2016 alongside 63 saves and six shutouts.

IWU earned four first-team all-CCIW players in 2016 with Tomko, Seger, senior Sarah Trach and freshman Ellie Crabtree making the cut. Crabtree was also named CCIW "Newcomer of the Year" and Dave Barrett was selected as "Coach of the Year.".

Hanover is also making its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament following a 1-0 victory over Franklin in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament Championship. Hanover sports a 13-5-0 record overall and went 8-1 in the HCAC. The Panthers are winners of their last nine and have won 12 of their last 13 matches. In 2016 the Panthers are 0-2 against teams ranked in the top 25, falling to both Washington U.-St. Louis and Thomas More.
 
Hanover's offensive attack is led by senior Anna Cornacchione who finished second in the HCAC in both goals scored and assists. Cornacchione led the Panthers with 16 goals and 14 assists, tallying 46 points. Senior goalkeeper Karlee VanDerWeele was named the MVP of the HCAC Conference Tournament after she allowed one goal in two games. VanDerWeele boasts a record of 12-5-0 with six shutouts to her name. The senior goalkeeper owns a goals against average of 1.24 with 65 saves made.
 
Hanover has outscored opponents 65-22 overall and 50-3 in conference play. The Panthers rank 9th nationally in scoring offense at 3.61 goals per game.
 
In the other first round match at 11 a.m. on Saturday, No. 3-ranked Trinity (Texas) (20-0-0) squares off with Mount Union (12-6-3). The winning teams from day one will meet at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.

TRINITY (TEXAS): No. 3-ranked Trinity University (Texas) is the number one seed in this weekend's pod of matches after finishing their regular season with an impressive 20-0-0 record ... Trinity received an automatic bid to the tournament after winning their eighth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championship with a 2-1 win over Southwestern (Texas) ... The Tigers have now won 21 SCAC championships overall in women's soccer. This marks the 22nd time the Tigers will appear in the NCAA Tournament ... Colleen Markey and Julia Kelly were named offensive and defensive MVPS of the SCAC Conference Tournament ... Rank 2nd in the country in assists per game (3.80) ... 7th in goals against average (2.49) ... 2nd in points per game (12.90) ... 2nd in goals per game (4.55) ... 1st in shots per game (28.40) ... 5th in shots on goal per game (13.20) ... 2nd in total assists (76) ... 2nd in total goals (91) ... 2nd in total points (258) ... Offensively the team is led by Yasmeen Farra with 13 goals and six assists for a total of 32 points ... Brigitte Taylor leads the team with nine assists ... Goalkeeper Janie Thompson has allowed two goals in 15 games played this season, making nine saves ... Opponents have scored just once in the first half against Trinity all season ...

MOUNT UNION: At 12-6-3 the Purple Raiders are playing in their first-ever NCAA Tournament  ... Mount Union defeated Ohio Northern by a final score of 2-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament to earn the automatic bid ... Mount Union won their first conference title since 1996 in doing so ... Enter into the tournament on a school-record 11 game winning streak ... Nicole Lanese leads the team in goals scored with 22 ... Lanese ranks 7th in the country with this mark ... Carolyn Balzano leads the team in assists with 11 ... Goalkeeper Paige Freel made 101 saves this season and allowed 21 goals with a 1.33 goals against average ... Team was 9-2-3 with Freel in goal ... Freel had a 1.02 goals against average in conference play ...