Mastodon Soccer to Battle for NCAA Bid on Sunday

BROOKINGS, S.D. - The IPFW women's soccer team have taken advantage of their first-ever trip to the Summit League Tournament, advancing to the title match against Oakland with a berth into the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Opponent: Oakland Golden Grizzlies (10-5-3)
When: Sunday, November 4 | 1 p.m. EST
Where: Brookings, S.D. | Fishback Soccer Park
Series: Oakland leads 6-1
Live Stats: South Dakota State Live Stats
Live Video: South Dakota State Live Video (subscription required)

SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
The Mastodons come into the Championship Match with a school-record 10 wins on the season, and are 6-1-1 in the team's last eight matches.

Danielle Bishop, a Second Team All-Summit League selection, leads the team with six goals, including two in the regular season finale against IUPUI. Rachel Good, an All-Newcomer Team selection and Arianne Mason, a Second Team pick, each have four goals, with half of Good's total coming in the semifinal win over North Dakota State.

Sophomore Sydney Hoareau and freshman Erin Gill, the latter of which was also named to the All-Newcomer Team, each have three goals, as the Mastodons have out-scored their opponents 22-to-19 on the season.

Tylar Allison, IPFW's lone First Team All-League selection, has a team-high four assists, as three others - Good, Hoareau, and Tessa Edwards - each have two helpers on the year.

Freshman goalkeeper Sam Pavlika has a 1.02 goals against average, with 75 saves and a school-record-tying four shutouts, earning her a spot on the All-Newcomer Team.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland comes into the Championship Match with a 10-5-3 overall record, with the team's last loss coming on October 20 against the IPFW Mastodons.

The Golden Grizzlies are led by Kyla Kellerman, the Summit League Offensive Player of the Year, who has nine goals and three assists, while Abigail Haelewyn has three goals and nine assists. Meghan Reynolds and Marlek Knopf each have four goals and three assists for 11 total points, with 10 others scoring once.

Nicole DeLuca has dished out four assists, for the second-highest total on the team, with Kellermann, Reynolds, and Knopf dishing out three, and Alyssa Fulton, Erin Ring, and Summit League Defensive Player of the Year Kara Weber with two goals each.

Shannon Coley has a 0.86 goals against average, and has not allowed a goal since the IPFW loss, all 1-0 wins for the Golden Grizzlies. She has added 67 saves, with seven shutouts.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Coming into the season, the Mastodons had an 0-6 record against the Golden Grizzlies; however, earlier this season, the Mastodons snapped that streak, topping Oakland 3-2 at the Hefner Soccer Field.

The first meeting between the teams came in 2001, IPFW's first year of NCAA Division I eligibility. That year the team fell to the Golden Grizzlies 6-0. The next time the two squads met up on the soccer pitch was 2007, the Mastodons' first season in the Summit League, and Oakland greeted them with a 4-0 defeat.

The years of 2008 and 2009 saw 6-1 and 4-0 losses, before the Mastodons scored two goals in the 2010 meeting, falling 5-2. Last season the Mastodons closed the gap, falling 1-0 in Rochester on a goal in the 39th minute of the match, before getting the first win on October 20 by a 3-2 score.

LAST TIME AGAINST OAKLAND
The IPFW Mastodons picked up their first-ever win over the Oakland Grizzlies on Saturday evening in the first game of a women's / men's doubleheader, and in the process climbed into first place in the Summit League standings with a 3-2 win.

The Mastodons found themselves trailing 2-0 after the first 28 minutes of the game with two quick goals from the Grizzlies, but fought back with a goal 34:13 into the game when Sydney Hoareau found a waiting Arianne Mason near the box to cut the 2-0 deficit in half.

Less than four minutes later it was Mason that found a waiting Hoareau, beating Oakland keeper Shannon Coley left post and knotting the score at two apiece 38:03 into the game.

Just over ten minutes into the second half the Mastodons got the game-winner from Danielle Bishop, who took a pass from Erin Gill and chipped it over the Oakland goalkeeper's head, giving the match its 3-2 final score on her fourth goal of the year, and third game-winner.

IPFW out-shot Oakland 15-to-9 in the game, including eight on goal for IPFW against just three for Oakland. Coley had a match-high five saves, while Pavlika had one.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Mastodon Soccer to Battle for NCAA Bid on Sunday

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