BROOKINGS, S.D. – The second-seeded University of Denver women's soccer team controlled the 2018 Summit League Final from start to finish to win the program's second-consecutive Summit League Tournament with a 4-0 victory over fourth-seeded Omaha on Saturday afternoon at Fishback Soccer Complex.
"I thought we did a great job adapting to the conditions to still be able to knock the ball around quite a bit and play our game," head coach
Jeff Hooker said. "Give Tim (Walters) a lot of credit for getting his shorthanded team prepared for this tournament and into the final. I'm really proud of our group, how we played today, how we responded to a couple adjustments that we made at halftime and how we executed in the second half."
Denver's win marks the 10
th Division I league tournament title for the Pioneers and their third in the Summit League (2013 and 2017). Denver will learn its 11
th NCAA Tournament draw on Monday at 2:30 p.m. MT during the 2018 NCAA Women's Soccer Selection Show that will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
2018 Summit League Tournament MVP
Hannah Adler (Oak Park, Calif.) scored the winner in the 41
st, while freshman
Camryn MacMillan (Littleton, Colo.) recorded the second multi-goal game of her career to lead the Pioneers on the scoresheet on Saturday.
Adler got Denver on the board in the 41
st minute off a beautiful piece of play that started from the Denver right. Freshman outside back
Esther Malers (Fort Collins, Colo.) played a cross in 25 yards from the endline down the right flank. Adler headed it in the air to Freshman of the Year
Samantha Feller (Grand Junction, Colo.), who took it first time on the volley, but her attempt at a 10
th goal this season was kept out. Adler chested the rebound down and drilled it into the side netting inside the far post to put the Pioneers in-front.
MacMillan made it 2-0 in the 52
nd minute off another cross from Feller, who earned her fourth assist of 2018. The leading scorer of the tournament sprayed the ball out wide to the left to Feller who took a few touches and crossed it back into MacMillan. MacMillan took a touch in the box and drilled her sixth goal of the season off the underside of the crossbar and over the line.
Just over seven minutes later, MacMillan made it 3-0 in the 59
th, volleying a cross from just outside the six-yard box that was served in by senior
Leah Swander (Grand Junction, Colo.). MacMillan's goal was her seventh of the campaign, while Swander earned her fourth assist of the season and the seventh of her Pioneer career.
Denver's lead was pushed to four in the 75
th minute when a
Meg Halvorson (Englewood, Colo.) corner deflected off Margaret Lavigne's hip and into the back of her own net.
Junior captain
Brittany Wilson (Littleton, Colo.) made two saves in her 10
th shutout of the season and the 17
th of her three-year Pioneer career.
Last weekend, the Pioneers claimed their ninth NCAA Division I regular season title, including their third in the Summit League.
2018 All-Tournament Team
Hannah Adler, Denver (Tournament MVP)
Samantha Feller, Denver
Camryn MacMillan, Denver
Cheyenne Shorts, Denver
Bailey Cascio, Omaha
Taylor Gelling, Omaha
Emily Romero, Omaha
Holly Enderle, North Dakota State
Mallory Fenske, North Dakota State
Darien Poelstra, South Dakota State
Kelsi Wipf, South Dakota State
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