Horizon League announces bracket and pairings for 2006 Women's Soccer Championship
Oct. 26, 2006
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INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee enters the 2006 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship with the top seed, as eight teams compete for the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament beginning Saturday (Oct. 28).
The Panthers (15-2-1, 7-0-0 HL), riding a school-best 10-game winning streak into the tournament, staked a claim to the program's seventh consecutive regular-season championship and look for their second straight tournament championship. The team kicks off the loop summit by welcoming No. 8 Cleveland State University (3-16-0, 0-7-0) to Engelmann Field at 5 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. CDT). In the regular-season match, UWM posted a 5-0 victory over the Vikings on Oct. 8.
Loyola University Chicago (11-6-3, 5-1-1 HL) holds the second seed for the tournament and hosts seventh-seeded Youngstown State University (3-13-0, 1-6-0) on Sunday at noon EDT (11 a.m. CDT). The Ramblers won a program-best 11 games this season, while placing tops in the circuit in shots (306) and assists (32). When the two teams played on Oct. 15, LU came away with a 4-1 victory at Loyola Soccer Park.
A 2-1, overtime victory on the last day of the regular season gave the No. 3 seed to Wright State University (12-3-3, 4-2-1). The Raiders will take on No. 6 seed Butler University (5-10-2, 2-4-1) in their quarterfinal game scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. EDT in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulldogs played WSU close in the regular-season contest, but fell 1-0 on Oct. 6 at Varsity Field in Indianapolis, Ind.
The final quarterfinal game pits the fourth-seeded University of Detroit Mercy (8-10-0, 4-3-0) against No. 5 seed University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (8-6-2, 3-3-1) at 5 p.m. EDT at Ferndale High School in Detroit, Mich. It will be a rematch of the Oct. 22 contest in which the Titans traveled to Green Bay, Wis., and knocked off the Phoenix, 1-0.
The highest seed remaining after the quarterfinal round earns the right to host the remainder of the tournament the following weekend. Semifinals are scheduled for Friday, Nov. 3, with the League champion crowned on Sunday, Nov. 5. That team receives the League's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins Nov. 10 at campus sites. The 2006 NCAA Men's College Cup is slated for Dec. 1 and 3 at SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
For more information regarding the Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship, log on to the Horizon League web site at www.horizonleague.org.
