ALVA, Okla- The 2021 spring soccer regular season concluded for the Great American Conference on Tuesday evening. The conference has released their tournament bracket as Northwestern Soccer will travel to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, to play against Ouachita Baptist on Saturday. The kickoff time for the game has been scheduled for noon. The game will be the second meeting between the two teams of the season.
Northwestern led by head coach Alex Piekarski who continues his first season with the Rangers program.
The Red-and-Black goal leaders are Clare Merrigan and Rachel Bailey, both with one goal each in the 2021 season. Bailey leads the team in points with the goal and one assist for three points on the season. Merrigan has two points from her goal scored. Lily Anderson and Alyssa Nunez have seven shots as all seven of Nunez have been on target, followed by Callie Haneborg with six.
The Rangers defense led by Caitlyn Bidart, Kaitlyn Morphy, and Kailani Kealoha has each started all six games this season. Kealoha also has added a shot on the year.
The Northwestern goaltender is Reyna Gonzalez, who has started all six games for the Rangers, making 42 saves through those starts. On the season, she is averaging seven saves per game on the year for a .824SV%. The save percentage is second in the Great American Conference and the 42 saves is third for the most in the league. Gonzalez has one shutout during the spring season.
Ouachita Baptist:
The Tigers come into the Saturday matchup 6-3 overall on the year with a 4-2 Great American Conference record. In the last three games, Ouachita is 1-2 to end the regular season.
Kevin Wright is the head coach of Ouachita who is in his ninth season with the women's soccer program after joining them in 2012. He holds a 76-72-7 record with the program since being hired.
The Tigers offense is led by Ashlyn Heckman with six goals on the season along with an assist for 13 points which are both leading the conference in goals and points. She is followed by Jaymee Dotson with nine points from three goals and three assists.
The Ouachita Baptist goalkeeper is Michele Snow, has made eight starts in net with 21 saves on the season for a save percentage of .722 with a 5-2 record with two shutouts on the season.
History:
The Saturday matchup will be the second meeting between the Rangers and Tigers this season. The first one, Ouachita Baptist, edging out a 3-2 win over the Rangers. Northwestern opened a 2-0 lead in the first meeting. The Rangers played Ouachita into double overtime in the match before the Tigers struck the game-winning goal on a penalty kick. Overall in the series history Rangers have won twice in 16 meetings between the two teams. Northwestern will look to upset the number two team in the conference this season.
2021 GAC Women's Soccer Spring Championship:
First Round:
Saturday, 4/10 (Games Played at Higher Seed)
Match #1 – 11:00 AM: #5 Harding at #4 East Central
Match #2 – 1:00 PM: #6 Southern Nazarene at #3 Southwestern Oklahoma State
Match #3 – Noon: #7 Northwestern Oklahoma State at #2 Ouachita
Semifinals:
Thursday, 4/15 (Games Played at Oklahoma Baptist)
Match #4 – 3:00 PM: Match #2 Winner vs. Match #3 Winner
Match #5 – 6:00 PM: Match #1 Winner at #1 Oklahoma Baptist
Championship:
Saturday, 4/17 (Game Played at Oklahoma Baptist, Time TBD)
Match #6: Match #4 Winner vs. Match #5 Winner
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