WAVERLY, Iowa – No. 2 seed Wartburg women's soccer is set to open postseason play by hosting an American Rivers Conference Tournament semifinal match against No. 3 seed Simpson College on Wednesday, Nov. 3 with kickoff at 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 3 – 5:00 p.m. – Waverly, Iowa – Salzwedel Field
Wartburg Knights (14-2-1, 7-1 A-R-C) vs Simpson College (13-5-1, 6-2 A-R-C)
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In the Polls
The Knights have fallen out of the United Soccer Coaches national poll and is currently ranked 24
th in the latest
d3soccer.com national poll. Wartburg has fallen from No. 2 to No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches
region IX rankings.
Last Time Out
Wartburg defeated Luther College 1-0 in Decorah, Iowa to close the regular season on Tuesday, Oct. 26.
The Orange & Black got on the board early after drawing a penalty that led to a successful penalty kick from
Lauren Kirkle in the fifth minute of play. The rest of the first half was an even battle with good defensive play on both sides. Both teams recorded four shots in the first, but none found the net. The Knights would take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The score remained 1-0 throughout the second half.
Marissa Lopez recorded two saves with less than 10 minutes to go to secure the 1-0 shutout victory. Lopez played all 90 minutes in goal for the Orange & Black and recorded six saves.
The Knights finished the regular season with a 14-2-1 overall record and 7-1 in A-R-C play.
Wartburg
The Orange & Black are outscoring opponents 49-8 this season coming from an average of 19.6 shots per game. The offense is led by both
Joy Smith and
Kate Luers, who have both eclipsed 20 total points this season. Smith has scored 11 goals (four game winning) and added two assists for a total of 24 points. Luers netted nine goals (three game winning) with three assists so far this season for a total of 21 points.
The Knights' defense allowed only 0.47 goals per game during the regular season coming off just over eight shots per game. The Orange & Black have won nine matches by way of shutout this season. The defense is led by goalkeeper Lopez, who has started all 17 games and logged 1396:52 minutes in goal. Lopez has a save percentage of 90.3% throughout the season and has recorded 65 saves.
The last appearance in the A-R-C Tournament was in 2019 when Wartburg won the tournament championship.
Simpson
Simpson College enter Wednesday's matchup coming off a 2-1 first round A-R-C Tournament win against Central College.
The Storm's offense is led by Cassie Nash, who has scored 13 goals and added seven assists for a total of 33 points through 19 games played. Nash is tied for the lead in goals scored in the A-R-C. Simpson has averaged 2.42 goals per game throughout the season off 18.3 shots per game.
Defensively, Simpson has shutout seven opponents this season. In goal for the Storm, Brenny Frederick has started 15 games and logged 1500:05 minutes in goal. Frederick has a save percentage of 77.6% and has recorded 66 saves with 12 wins this season.
Last Matchup
This will be the second matchup between these schools this season.
The first contest ended with a 3-1 win for Wartburg on Oct. 9
th in Indianola, Iowa. Nash scored early for the Storm to take a 1-0 lead. The Knights tied the match before half with a Haley Howe goal, and then came out in the second and scored two more unanswered goals from Luers and
Gabby Corday to win 3-1.
The all-time series record between these schools is 20-11-2 in favor of Wartburg. The Knights are 11-0-1 in the last 12 matchups with the Storm.
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