Greencastle, Ind.- For the first time since 2015 and the ninth time overall, the DePauw women's soccer team is heading to the NCAA Women's soccer tournament after beating Wittenberg University 2-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference women's soccer championship game. The DePauw Tigers improved to 12-5-3 for the season and, with today's win, earned the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, while the Wittenberg Tigers wrapped their season with an overall record of 6-6-5.
The DePauw Tigers got on the board just 19 minutes into the game, capitalizing on a corner kick attempt made by Sophia Patrey, who sent a ball to the back post, where sophomore Eva Lynch headed it in to put DePauw up 1-0. DePauw would extend its lead to two in the 37th minute when first-year Caroline Tally deflected a miss-touched clear, giving DePauw a two-goal cushion heading into halftime.
After the half, the Wittenberg Tigers came out with newfound energy, which caught the DePauw Tigers off guard in the opening minutes of play. In the 48th minute, Grace Koperna gathered a free-kick pass from Brooke Mullis and found the bottom corner of DePauw's goal to cut the DePauw Tigers' lead in half. Despite momentum shifting in favor of Wittenberg, DePauw remained calm, kept Wittenberg's offense at bay for the rest of the half, and ultimately beat Wittenberg 2-1 at home.
Wittenberg finished the afternoon outshooting DePauw 13-5, with eight of their shots on goal. Wittenberg would also hold a 5-3 edge over DePauw in corner kicks, giving up zero shots and corner kicks to the DePauw Tigers in the second half. Aubree Empie played in goal for DePauw and finished the afternoon with seven crucial saves, while Lily Winkle of Wittenberg tallied just one.
Juniors Macy Happe, Ellie Mahan, and Jayla Logan, as well as sophomores Eva Lynch and Empie, were selected to the NCAC All-tournament team, with Empie earning the top honor of tournament MVP after tallying ten saves across the semifinal and championship games.
The DePauw Tigers will find out who they will face in the first round of the NCAA women's soccer tournament on Monday, November 11, at 2 p.m. Be sure to stay tuned for updates and links to the live stream and stats.
