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For Immediate Release
October 22, 2005
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN WINS GPAC WOMEN’S
SOCCER TITLE
LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska Wesleyan extended
its home unbeaten streak in women’s soccer to 19 games and
won the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) regular season title
with a 1-0 victory against Morningside College on a wet and chilly
Saturday night in Abel Stadium.
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Photo by Ben Harden |
After a scoreless first half and a number of squandered
scoring opportunities, NWU’s Lindsay Priefert (Jr., Lincoln,
Neb., Southeast High School) lobbed a ball into the box and teammate
Liz Baltzell (So., Omaha, Neb., Duchesne Academy) flashed in front
of Kelly Berst, Morningside’s goalkeeper. Berst made a feet-first
slide to try and block the ball, but Baltzell managed a touch just
before colliding with Berst, which allowed the ball to roll into
the net for the game’s only goal at 71:24. Click
here to view the box score.
“We had too many good reasons to play great tonight and we
did,” NWU Head Coach Taylor Haynes said, referring to the
streak and conference title being at stake. “We do have a
sense of duty when it comes to protecting our house, but I was surprised
at how one-sided this match was. We really dominated, especially
in the midfield.”
The Prairie Wolves have not lost in Abel Stadium since Morningside
won 2-1 in double overtime on Oct. 11, 2003, and during the 19-game
stretch at home, Nebraska Wesleyan has 13 shutouts and has outscored
its opponents by a combined total of 53-8.
NWU (13-3 overall, 9-2 GPAC) out shot Morningside on Saturday 31-3
and had 11 more shots on goal than the Mustangs, who fell to 10-8
overall and third place in the league standings at 8-3. Dordt College
finished second at 8-2-1 in GPAC play.
“We have some hardware, but now it’s back to work,”
Haynes said. “We have to prove again on Tuesday that we are
worthy of a bid to the NCAA tournament.”
The NWU women close out their regular season on Oct. 25 with a home
match against Simpson College (11-3-1) and need a win to keep their
NCAA Division III Championship hopes for the postseason alive.
“It will be like a first round tournament match, because we
have to win it, and I hope that helps us. We seem to play better
when we’re on edge,” Haynes said.
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