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Monmouth College Soccer Making History with Conference Tournament Appearances

by Dan Nolan

Monmouth, IL (11/06/2019) — Never before in Monmouth College soccer history have the men's and women's teams qualified for the four-team Midwest Conference Championships in the same year until now. To make it even better, both tournaments will be held just a 15-minute drive away.

"It's a great time and opportunity for soccer fans at Monmouth," said men's coach Kooten Johnson. "Fans can take a day and watch both teams play in the conference tournament. It will make for a great atmosphere."

As luck would have it, both teams will be playing in Galesburg Friday as rival Knox won hosting duties for both tournaments. Monmouth's men qualified in the final game of the regular season for their first MWC postseason berth since winning the tournament title and advancing to the NCAA tournament in 2001. Their 3-0 win at Ripon - their program record eighth shutout - sealed the deal as the fourth seed when any possible tiebreaker with other contenders favored the Fighting Scots.

"Making the tournament has been a goal, especially for our 10 seniors," said Johnson. "It's been at the top of the list for the last four years. After winning at Ripon, we were relieved to finally make it, but they know the next season starts Friday."

Making the tournament field wasn't as dramatic for the Monmouth women, who clinched no worse than a tie for third with a week to play. Making their second MWC playoffs trip in three years and sixth overall, the women rolled off a school-record 13 wins and will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed.

"We have a bunch of players who have been there before and that's very different than 2017 when we were all new to the experience," said women's coach Nick Rizzo. "Last time it was like 'Holy cow, we're in the tournament, now what do we do?' This time, I feel we have a purpose."

Monmouth's women open play at 11 a.m. Friday, meeting Cornell at Galesburg High School. The Rams hung a 3-0 loss on the Scots a month ago, but Rizzo admits it may have been a "good" loss.

"That came at a time when we had some injuries," reported Rizzo. "That forced us to learn, and as a result Yari Aguado has emerged as that third forward and Jordyn Gosell moved to center-mid. We probably would have never made those moves if it hadn't been for the Cornell game. We're entering the tournament as a much different team."

It's not that the Scots were hurting for scoring. Seniors Kara-Jade Gordon and Jacie Reis have combined to score nearly half of the Scots' 54 goals. Monmouth, which has seen 15 different players score this season, holds a nearly 3-1 scoring advantage - tops among the tournament field. The goal differential between the four teams: No. 1 Knox, No. 2 Cornell, No. 3 Monmouth and No. 4 Lake Forest has been miniscule, making for a wide-open field according to Rizzo.

"The conference is as good and even as it's ever been," he said. "I think any one of the four teams can win it. No team is going to feel intimidated. This is a field of four very capable teams."

Monmouth's men will be tested in another installment of the Knox-Monmouth rivalry. The two teams meet in Friday's first round set for a 2 p.m. start at Knox. The Prairie Fire clipped the Scots 2-0 on Monmouth's home field a month ago and have taken the last four meetings.

"It doesn't matter who we play," said Johnson. "If we want to win the tournament, we've got to beat two other teams. It just happens that we open with Knox. It's exciting to play in the conference tournament and being against a rival just adds to the excitement."

The winner will face either St. Norbert or Lake Forest in Saturday's final. No. 1 Knox, No. 2 Lake Forest and No. 3 St. Norbert have all beaten the other, making Monmouth the only tournament team without a win against one of the tournament field, although they did play to a 1-1 double-overtime draw with St. Norbert in September. Defense has been the key for the Scots in 2019 and Johnson expects nothing different this weekend.

"We gave up a couple of goals to Knox in that loss, but we're working on correcting some mistakes," reported Johnson. "The guys have done a really good job of buying into the team defense concept where everyone on the field is responsible for defending. They've done a good job in the run of play, but we need to clean some things up on restarts. Hopefully, we'll be up to the challenge and can give the fans a taste of Monmouth soccer."

WOMEN'S SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 8 - Semifinals
Game 1 - 11 a.m.: AT KNOX COLLEGE No. 1 Knox vs. No. 4 Lake Forest
Game 2 - 11 a.m.: AT GALESBURG HIGH SCHOOL No. 2 Cornell vs. No. 3 Monmouth

Saturday, Nov. 9 - Championship
Game 3 - 11 a.m.: AT KNOX COLLEGE Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

MEN'S SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 8 - Semifinals
Game 1 - 2 p.m.: AT KNOX COLLEGE No. 1 Knox vs. No. 4 Monmouth
Game 2 - 2 p.m.: AT GALESBURG HIGH SCHOOL No. 2 Lake Forest vs. No. 3 St. Norbert

Saturday, Nov. 9 - Championship
Game 3 - 2 p.m.: AT KNOX COLLEGE Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

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