TIFFIN, Ohio—The Heidelberg University women’s soccer team will look to earn a berth in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference tournament Saturday, Oct. 29 when it faces Wilmington College in an OAC match in Wilmington, Ohio. Kickoff from Charlie Gilhart Field is slated for 7 p.m.
The Berg, 6-10-1 overall and 3-5-0 in the OAC, enters the match in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with Baldwin-Wallace College, the University of Mount Union and Wilmington with nine points each. A Heidelberg win and a loss or a tie by either B-W or Mount Union will guarantee and berth in the tournament for the Tri-Color. A tie and losses by both B-W and Mount Union, or a B-W tie and Mount Union loss, will also move Heidelberg into the top six of the league standings.
In its last match, a 4-0 loss to OAC standings leader No. 12 Ohio Northern University in Ada on Wednesday, Heidelberg had just 12 student-athletes available, but will return to full strength this weekend. Sophomore midfielders Kelsey Hogan (Cincinnati/Mariemont) and Aleseya Evans (Troy) pace the offense. Hogan ranks in the top-10 in the conference in points (13) and goals (six) and has placed 50.9 percent (28-of-55) of her shots on goal. Evans, who scored the game-winner in the Berg’s last win, a 2-1 edging of Marietta last Saturday, has eight points on four goals.
Junior goalkeeper Molly Schriber (Sidney), 4-8-0 with two shutouts, is expected to start in the net. Schriber saves 78.0 percent of the shots she faces and has made 78 saves while allowing just 22 goals in 992 minutes of action.
The Quakers, 5-10-3 overall and 3-5-0 in the OAC following a 1-0 loss to Otterbein on Wednesday, are led by the duo of Lauren Price and Sarah Watters, with 10 points each. Price has scored five goals, while Watters has four scores and one assist. Abbey Williamson, 2-7-3 with one shutout, has logged most of the minutes in the Wilmington net. Williamson is saving 72.4 percent of the shots she faces and has made 55 saves while allowing 21 goals in 1,128 minutes.
With Mount Union’s match at Otterbein University and B-W’s match at Muskingum University both starting at 1 p.m., both the Berg and Quakers will know what they need to do to seal their postseason fates by kickoff.