BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – After bettering its record to 1-1-0 with a win over Knox College on Wednesday, the Illinois Wesleyan University women's soccer team heads to Waverly, Iowa Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 9-10, for the Midwest Tournament hosted by Wartburg College. Saturday's contest will begin the Titans' run of five straight games on the road spanning four different states.

Wednesday night saw the Green and White excel to a late second-half surge against the Knox College Prairie Fire. Freshman Sophie Lampert (Hudson, Ill.-Normal West) sparked the Titan scoring run in the 69th minute before junior Amanda Yaeger (New Lenox, Ill.-Lincoln-Way West) notched her first goal of the season in the 72nd minute. Freshman Ava Mapes (Golden, Colo.-Lakewood) picked up back-to-back goals in the 79th and 80th minute of play to kickstart her freshman campaign. 

Sophomores Sawyer White (Downers Grove, Ill.-Montini Catholic) and Maya Basan (Skokie, Ill.-Loyola Academy) added an assist each to their sophomore stat lines, while junior goalkeeper Kayla Borg (McHenry, Ill.-Cary Grove) faced two shots on the evening and added another save to her season total (8). 

Illinois Wesleyan opens the weekend with a neutral site matchup against UW-La Crosse on Saturday. The two programs last met in the NCAA Division III Championship Second Round game Nov. 12, 2022, where the Titans were downed 1-nil by the regional host who went on to complete their season in a 2-1 loss to Virginia Wesleyan in the third round. UW-La Crosse opened the 2023 season ranked No. 13 according to the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll after turning in a 2022 season record of 21-2-1. The Eagles enter the Midwest Tournament with a 3-0-0 record, having shut out each of its previous opponents this season. 

The Green and White will complete their weekend with a Sunday match against the Knights, who enter the weekend with a 1-2-0 record. Wartburg also found a niche in the preseason rankings, coming in at No. 23 after a 2022 season that saw a 16-3-2 record and an NCAA tournament appearance. WC advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season before falling 3-1 to Washington University in St. Louis. The Titans trail in a short 2-0 series record with the Knights, as Wartburg won their last meeting in a 3-0 shutout. 

The Titans will take on No. 13 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Saturday, Sept. 9 at 1:30 p.m. before facing No. 23 Wartburg Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2:30 p.m. at Salzwedel Field. 

The game will be available via live stats and live stream. The live stream can be found here, while live stats can be accessed here.