Women's Soccer 10/30/07 -- MIAC Playoff Semifinals -- St. Benedict 2, Augsburg 0
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ST. JOSEPH, Minn. (10/30/07) -- Scoring twice in a 10-minute span midway through the second half, the College of St. Benedict advanced to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer finals with a 2-0 win over visiting Augsburg College in a semifinal contest on Tuesday afternoon at St. Benedict.
Rachel Loftus scored an unassisted goal on a header off a corner kick in the 62nd minute, and Tina Lisk scored an unassisted goal on a shot in the 72nd minute for the Blazers (15-4-0), who advance to face Concordia-Moorhead (15-3-1), which won the other semifinal game on Tuesday, 2-0 over Macalester (10-6-1). The conference championship game will be on Saturday (11/3) at 1 p.m. at Concordia, with the winner earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national playoffs.
Augsburg was outshot by a 12-4 margin, including a 6-1 margin in the second half. Augsburg goalkepper Maggie DeGroot * (Jr., Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha West HS) claimed six saves in the contest.
"It's disappointing to have the season come to an end, particularly since we felt confident we would win today," said Augsburg head coach Mike Navarre. "However, St. Benedict is a solid team. They scored two great goals in the second half and deserve to play in the final on Saturday."
Augsburg has reached the MIAC Playoffs the last four seasons in a row, along with Macalester and Concordia.
The game marks the final collegiate appearance for five Auggie seniors -- Erin Gave (Sr., Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), Noreen Hogan (Sr., Moline, Ill./Alleman HS), Jackie Keller * (Sr., Traverse City, Mich./Traverse City West HS), Angie Neuhaus (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest HS) and Mitra Rahimi * (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), who finished their careers with a 37-24-12 record.
"Although it's difficult to come up short in the playoffs again, this team overcame a lot just to get there. Finishing the regular season as the third seed was a great accomplishment for our program. I'm particularly proud of our senior class -- Erin, Mitra, Angie, Noreen, and Jackie leave a great legacy, they made it to the playoffs all four years," Navarre said. "We are sad today, but the future is bright for this program. It's filled with outstanding people and great players who will take this experience and grow from it."
