(ADA, Ohio) – The Wilmington College women's soccer team returns to the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament tomorrow night for the first time since the COVID-shortened spring 2021 season, where they advanced to the semifinals. They take on the No. 3 seed Ohio Northern University Polar Bears at 7:00 P.M. They fell to Ohio Northern on October 18th, 2-1 in Ada.
The Quakers are coming into the game on a hot streak, having won three straight conference games to make it into the tournament as the No. 6 seed. They began their 2023 season strong at 7-1-1 before OAC play started. They lost four straight to start the conference slate before drawing against Marietta College to get them back on their feet. They had the aforementioned loss to Ohio Northern but haven't lost since.
During this three-game winning streak, they have outshot their opponents 54-21, with 24 shots on goal to their opponents seven.
Sophomore Alex Wilson and freshman MJ Little have been the go-to players for the Quakers lately, with Wilson scoring the lone goal of the game on Wednesday against Muskingum off a Little assist before Little scored the one goal against Heidelberg on Saturday off a Katie Bradford assist. Wilson leads the team with 18 points, seven goals, and four assists. Little has led the team in conference play with a team-high five points (2 goals, 1 assist).
The duo of Heidi Toner and Emma Storck have been solid in goal this season for the Quakers, as they have combined for six shutouts this season. The Quakers tied with Ohio Northern for the third least number of goals allowed in the conference this season with 19.
The Quakers will have to watch out for the spread-out Ohio Northern attack, as they have seven players with multiple goals this season and no one with more than three. They also have four players with multiple assists, as sophomore Haley Cannon leads the team with 10 points (3 goals, 4 assists). Freshman goalkeeper Morgan Moeller has five shutouts this season and has made 49 saves for the Polar Bears.
A pair of head coaches will be making their OAC Tournament debut on Tuesday night. The Polar Bears Ben Tierney is in his first season in Ada, and Quakers head coach Nick Kinder is in his second season, after just missing out on a conference tournament appearance last year with a 10-8 overall record and 4-5 OAC record.
