MINNEAPOLIS -- Ashley St. Aubin (SR, Burnsville, Minn./Burnsville HS) tied the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's soccer record for career goals, and Gabriela Encarnacion (SR, Bel Air, Md./Bel Air HS) scored two goals, as Augsburg University advanced to the conference playoff championship game with a dominating 5-1 victory over the College of Saint Benedict in a semifinal match on Wednesday at Edor Nelson Field.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 5, Saint Benedict 1
LOCATION: Edor Nelson Field, Minneapolis
RECORDS: Augsburg 14-3-1 overall, Saint Benedict 11-6-2 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED
• St. Aubin's MIAC record-tying goal gave the Auggies a 2-1 lead at the 23:27 mark, and it was a "trademark" goal that has defined her career. Taking a pass from Ana Ortiz (SO, Waterloo, Iowa) about 40 yards away from the goal, St. Aubin drove past two defenders, then slotted the ball from left to right, past a diving Bennie goalkeeper for the go-ahead goal.
• Encarnacion claimed her third multi-goal of the season -- and second in a three-game span -- by scoring the first and last goals of the game for the Auggies. She scored on a scramble in front following a short corner kick in the sixth minute, then scored on an arcing shot to the top right corner from 15 yards out, off a give-and-go with St. Aubin in the 78th minute. The goals were the 19th and 20th of Encarnacion's three-year Augsburg career.
• Ortiz scored her third goal of the season in the 42nd minute, taking a long cross-field feed from St. Aubin and popping the ball just over the reach of the diving goalkeeper to the center of the net.
• Defender Jen Masello (SO, Darien, Ill./Downers Grove HS) gave the Auggies a 4-1 lead off a corner kick by Molly Conners (SO, Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater HS), slamming home a rising shot off a loose ball in front.
• Augsburg dominated play throughout the contest, claiming a 60-to-40-percent advantage in possession, while outshooting Saint Benedict by a 23-8 margin. The Auggies had 13 shots on-target to the Bennies' seven, and had six corner kicks, while not allowing the Bennies any.
• Goalkeeper Emily Chapman (SR, Elburn, Ill./Kaneland HS) had six saves to claim the win.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
• With the victory, Augsburg will advance to the MIAC playoff championship game for the third time in the last four years and the fifth time in program history. The top-seed Auggies will host No. 2-seed St. Thomas (15-2-2) on Saturday (11/9) at 1 p.m. at Edor Nelson Field. St. Thomas scored a 3-0 semifinal win over No. 6-seed Bethel on Wednesday. The conference co-regular-season champions met on Sept. 25 at Edor Nelson Field, with Augsburg claiming a 1-0 win on a St. Aubin goal in the 13th minute.
• Augsburg's career scoring leader, St. Aubin now has 69 career goals and 166 career points (30 assists) in 80 games. St. Aubin has scored at least one goal in 53 games in her career, and the Auggies are now 48-4-1 when she scores a goal. Among MIAC players in overall statistics, St. Aubin is currently second in both goals (16) and points (40).
• St. Aubin has now tied the MIAC women's soccer record for career goals (all games), 69, set by Macalester's Jenny Scanlon (1991-94). The MIAC's women's soccer career points record is 173 (62 goals, 49 assists), held by Heidi Campbell of Saint Mary's (1984-87); St. Aubin's 166 points are third-most in conference history.

FOR THE FOES
• Roxy Veldman tied the game at 1-1 at the 10:01 mark, taking a centering pass from Cecelia Miller, popping past a defender and slamming a shot to the low right corner.
• Kendall Koenen had eight saves in goal for Saint Benedict.

QUOTE FROM AUGSBURG COACH MIKE NAVARRE
• "It was a solid performance from the team tonight. We are excited about the opportunity to host the final against St. Thomas. It should be a great game. Special congratulations to Ashley for tying the all-time MIAC scoring record, quite an accomplishment."