ELMHURST, Ill. - Despite a three-way tie for first place in the regular season standings, South Dakota State earned the No. 1 seed in the league tournament via tiebreaker policies. IUPUI will be the No. 2 seed, while North Dakota State and Western Illinois will be the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds, respectively. The tournament is set for Nov. 6th and 8th at Fishback Soccer Park in Brookings, S.D., and the champion will receive The Summit League's automatic berth to the NCAA Women's College Cup.
South Dakota State (10-6-2, 7-2-0 Summit), the defending champion, enters the tournament as the top seed for the first time in league history under head coach Lang Wedemeyer. The Jackrabbits are led by sophomore Kayla Braffet with 19 points off six goals and a team-leading seven assists, which ranks second in the league. Junior Kaitlin Justice also has six goals for SDSU along with 13 points on the year. Freshman Courtney Higgins (11 points) and junior Danni Healy (10 points) give the Jacks four players with double-digit point totals on the year. Defensively, SDSU has allowed only eight goals in league play with senior Daniella Pappas and junior Brienna Rogers spliting time in goal. The two have a combined 1.17 goals against average and .768 save percentage for the season.
IUPUI (15-4-0, 7-2-0 Summit) qualified for the tournament for the second consecutive season under defending Coach of the Year Chris Johnson and won a school record 15 matches. Leading the way offensively for the Jaguars is sophomore Megan Hock, who has team-leading 10 goals on the year and 25 points, which are both second in the league. Last season's Newcomer of the Year, sophomore Alicia Brock, has tallied eight goals and three assists for 19 points, while senior Katrina McCrory has 17 points off six goals and five assists. Senior goalkeeper Jamie Farrell has started all 19 matches in net for IUPUI, collecting a 0.85 goals against average with 77 saves and seven shutouts. Junior Anna Pigg and sophomore Margaret Allgeier helped anchor a defense that only surrendered a league-leading eight league goals this season.
North Dakota State (10-7-2, 7-2-0 Summit) qualified for the league tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2007 under the direction of head coach Pete Cuadrado. Three players reached double figures in points, led by junior Abbey Stratton with 16. Stratton has netted six goals and dished out four assists for the Bison, who also collected their first winning season since joining the league. Junior Quin Ryan added 14 points (4 goals, 6 assists), while freshman Brooklyn Dyce had 12 points (5 goals, 2 assists) in the regular season. All six of Ryan's assists were in league matches, which held the top spot. NDSU had 15 players record at least one point on the year as the Bison out-scored league opponents 22-13. Defensively, sophomore Kalani Bertsch started 15 matches in goal, recording a 1.33 goals against average, 79 saves and four shutouts on the year.
Western Illinois (8-7-2, 5-3-1 Summit) is back in the tournament for the fourth time in the last five years and second under head coach Tony Guinn. The Fighting Leathernecks won their last four league matches after starting league play with a 1-3-1 record to earn the fourth seed. WIU has played in seven overtime matches this season, collecting a 3-1-3 record, including 3-0-1 in league play. Freshman Kellie Julius led WIU with 11 points on the year from four goals and three assists, while Alison Smyth had a team-high five goals for 10 points. Freshman goalkeeper Laura Atkinson took over goaltending duties at the mid-way point of the season, notching 71 saves and a 1.22 goals against average for the year. Western will be looking to capture its first ever Summit League Tournament title.
Courtesy: The Summit League
