APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's soccer team couldn't do it alone this past weekend. The Vikings were going to need help if they wanted to make the Midwest Conference Tournament.
Lawrence (11-6-0, 5-4-0 MWC) took care of what it needed to do with a 3-0 conference win over Ripon College on Saturday. It extended Lawrence's unbeaten streak against the Red Hawks to 12 years (11-0-1).
Lawrence also needed Monmouth College to beat Beloit College on Saturday, and the Scots delivered with a 2-0 victory. Lawrence then needed Lake Forest College to beat Monmouth on Sunday. This time the Foresters came through with a 3-0 victory, and the Vikings were in.
Lawrence will be the fourth seed in the tournament, which begins Friday at Carroll University. The host Pioneers won the conference championship with a 9-0-0 record (15-1-1 overall) and take on Lawrence in the second semifinal at 7 p.m. St. Norbert College faces Lake Forest in the other semifinal at 4 p.m. The winners face off at 7 p.m. Saturday night for the tournament title. The winner receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Lawrence is playing in the conference tournament for the first time since the Vikings played in five consecutive tournaments from 1998-2002. The Vikings won the tournament in 2000 and 2001 and played in the NCAA Division III Tournament in each of those years. Lawrence was the first MWC team to win a NCAA Division III Tournament game when it beat Aurora University 2-1 in the first round back in 2001.
The Vikings are led by the 1-2 punch of sophomore forward Mallory Koula and junior forward Sarah Ehlinger. Koula ranks third in conference games at 1.11 goals per game and fourth at 2.56 points per contest. Ehlinger, a two-time all-conference selection, has 10 goals and six assists for 26 points this season. Koula has 23 goals and seven assists for 53 points this season.
The Vikings also have had solid seasons from junior forward Liz Seeley (7-10-24) and freshman midfielder Ellie Galvin (6-6-18).
On the defensive side, the Vikings were without starting goalkeeper Lindsey Ahlen for several weeks due to injury. Ahlen, who has a 2.02 goals against average and .711 save percentage, is now back. Ariana Flood filled in for Ahlen and posted a 5-0-0 record with a 0.67 GAA and .769 save percentage.