2012 NCAC Women's Soccer Tournament Champions: DEPAUW UNIVERSITY

Semifinals: Thursday, Nov. 1	Championship: Saturday, Nov. 3
#4 DePauw 2, #1 Wittenberg 1 -- Box Score	DePauw 1, Denison 0 - Box Score
#3 Denison 1, #2 Wooster 0 -- Box Score

Championship Recap:
Fourth-seeded DePauw (4-3-1, 7-10-1) defeated third-seeded Denison (4-3-1, 6-11-2) by a 1-0 margin to capture the program's first NCAC Women's Soccer Tournament title on Saturday afternoon in Granville, Ohio. With the scored tied, 0-0, early in the second-half, DePauw senior Dana Sprague (Dharan, Saudi Arabia/Cushing Academy) settled a long pass, dribbled past a DU defender and launched a shot past a diving Andrea Karl (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty) for the games' lone tally. The DPU got a strong defensive effort led by sophomore goalie Emma Cooper (Tulsa, OK/Cascia Hall Prep) who corralled four saves, while Karl finished the contest with two for DU. With the victory, the Tigers have earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Div. III Women's Soccer Tournament.

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Semifinal Recaps:
No. 3 seed Denison (4-3-1, 6-10-2) advanced to the 2012 NCAC Tournament championship match after defeating second-seeded Wooster (7-1-0, 12-6-1), 1-0, in a semifinal contest on Thursday afternoon at Carl Dale Field in Wooster, Ohio. With the scored tied, 0-0, after one half of play, Big Red junior midfielder Lauren Jay (Westerville, OH/Olentangy Orange) launched a cross that found freshman forward Andrea Witte (Utica, OH/Northridge) whose header just under the crossbar accounted for the games' only score in the 49th minute. Wooster did apply constant pressure on the Denison defensive unit throughout the afternoon as the Scots fired off 14 shots in the match; however, Big Red junior goalie Andrea Karl (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty) corralled four saves to help secure the victory for Denison. With the win, the Big Red secured their seventh berth into the NCAC Tournament championship match.

Fourth-seeded DePauw (4-3-1, 6-10-1) upset top-seeded Wittenberg (7-1-1, 11-4-3) by a 2-1 margin to advance to the championship match of the NCAC Tournament for the first time in program history. After playing a scoreless first half, the DPU Tigers struck first in the 61st minute on an unassisted goal from sophomore Chloe Jacob (Grosse Pointe Park, MI/Grosse Pointe South). Wittenberg evened the score at 1-1 in the 81st minute on an unassisted goal from junior Kayla Murphy (Dayton, OH/Stebbins), but DPU netted the eventual game-winner on a penalty kick conversion off the foot of senior Dana Sprague (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia/Cushing Academy). The Tigers will now travel to Granville, Ohio, on Saturday afternoon to take on third-seeded Denison in the NCAC Tournament finals.

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Wittenberg (7-0-1, 11-3-3) earned its second North Coast championship with a pair of wins last week. The Tigers defeated DePauw, 2-1, and Kenyon, 2-0, to collect their second title all-time. Ohio Wesleyan leads the league with nine titles all-time, followed by Denison (8), Allegheny (7), Wooster (5), Wittenberg (2) and Kenyon (1).

Wittenberg will enter the 2012 NCAC Tournament as the top seed after picking up a 2-0 triumph over Kenyon in the regular season finale on Saturday. The Tigers will host fourth-seeded DePauw (4-3-1, 5-10-2) in a semifinal contest at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday evening. Wittenberg earned a 2-1 triumph over the Tigers in Springfield in the regular season meeting between the two squads on October 23rd. The other semifinal contest will feature second-seeded Wooster (7-1-0, 12-5-1) hosting third-seeded Denison (4-1-3, 5-10-1) at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon in Wooster. The Scots defeated the Big Red, 2-0, in their regular season meeting on October 6th. The championship match is set for Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed to emerge from the semifinal round.

Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament ... Wittenberg returns to the tournament after missing out a year ago. Last year snapped the Tigers streak of seven consecutive tournament appearances of which Wittenberg won four titles ...  Wooster is making its seventh tournament appearance all-time and third in a row after earning the top seed in the field of four two years ago ... Denison returns to the tournament field for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons and will look to get back into the championship match after winning the tournament with a 1-0 decision against Allegheny in 2010 ... DePauw is making its first-ever appearance at the NCAC Tournament in just its second year as a member of the league.