HCAC Soccer Tournament Finals Set for Saturday
November 7, 2008
GREENWOOD , IN - The 2008 HCAC soccer season comes to a close Saturday in Cincinnati and Terre Haute . The top seeded Rose-Hulman men's soccer team will play host to No. 2 Transylvania in the men's tournament final, while top seeded Mount St. Joseph will entertain third seed Manchester in the women's final.
On the men's side, Rose-Hulman (13-4-3, 7-0-1 HCAC) defeated Hanover 1-0 in two overtimes to advance to the conference final. The Engineers broke the tie in the 109 th minute on a penalty kick by sophomore forward Mitch Buffington (O'Fallon, Ill./H.S.) . A tackle was made in the box with just 10 seconds to go in the second overtime to allow Rose to win the game on the penalty kick.
Transylvania's path to the crown came at the expense of Manchester in very exciting fashion. The second seed Pioneers (11-5-1, 6-2 HCAC) scored a goal in the 73 rd minute to deliver the host team a berth into the championship game. Sophomore forward Brian Williams (Lexington , Ky. /Tates Creek) netted the game winner, receiving an assist from sophomore Stu Hampson (Lexington , Ky. /Henry Clay) .
Transylvania will look to get revenge on Rose-Hulman Saturday afternoon. The Engineers handed the Pioneers a 2-1 overtime defeat back on September 20. Junior forward Phil Meyer (Mequon , Wis. / Homestead ) scored the game-winner in the 98 th minute of the first overtime, netting Rose the victory. Transy will look for their fifth straight HCAC tournament crown, while the Engineers will compete for their first tournament championship. The men's final will be held at Rose-Hulman at 1:00 PM Saturday afternoon.
Manchester (10-9, 5-3 HCAC) and Mount St. Joseph (13-4-1, 8-0 HCAC) will meet in the women's soccer final. The Lions claimed their fourth HCAC women's soccer title and their first league championship since 2005 this season. The Mount enters Saturday's showdown with Manchester claiming victories in eight of their last nine games. MSJ advanced to the championship game with a 1-0 win over No. 4 Rose-Hulman. Senior forward Beth Schuermann (Cincinnati , Ohio /Home Schooled) recorded the game-winner in the 76 th minute to send the Lions to the title game.
The Spartans hope to earn their first trip to the NCAA Division III tournament with a win over the Lions Saturday. Manchester defeated Transylvania in a shootout after playing to a 2-2 tie after two overtimes. Junior forward Paige Koomler (Ft. Wayne , Ind. / Wayne ) tied the game at 2-2 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. The last time MSJ and MC met in the regular season, the Lions earned a 1-0 win in Cincinnati . The women's HCAC final is set to begin at 1:00 PM.
The winners of both the men's and women's finals will receive the conference's automatic bid into the Division III NCAA Soccer tournament. The NCAA will release the brackets at 9:00 AM Monday morning with the tournament beginning November 12.