WINONA, Minn. – Winona State University travels to Augustana University on Wednesday afternoon for the quarterfinals of the 2018 NSIC Soccer Tournament. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
The Warriors (8-7-1, 8-6-1 NSIC) are the six seed in the tournament and the Vikings (11-4-3, 10-3-2 NSIC) are the three seed. WSU has failed to qualify for the conference tournament just twice in program history. Last season, Winona State's opening round upset bid at No. 14 Bemidji State came up just short in a 3-2 loss.
The Warriors enter the postseason having won seven of their last nine games, including back-to-back shutouts to conclude the regular season. Winona State recorded seven shutouts this year.
Senior Jourdan Valkner was in net for both shutouts at SMSU and against Sioux Falls last weekend. She has posted four shutouts this season and seven in her career. Valkner has totaled 60 saves this year, and owns a .811 save percentage with a 1.16 goals against average.
Abby Bohanski enters the postseason red-hot as the forward looks to extend her stellar Warrior career. Bohanski recorded a goal and assist in each of WSU's final two games of the regular season and enters Wednesday leading the team in goals (5), assists (3) and total points (13). Four of her five goals this year have come in the month of October.
Melissa Greco is next for the Warriors with four goals, two assists and 10 points. Georgette Topalis has netted three goals this season. Senior Addie Royer has a pair of game-winning goals this year – one in the season finale against Sioux Falls and the other coming in overtime of a 2-1 win against Augustana earlier this year.
Greco had the other goal in this season's win over the Vikings and Valkner made six saves. The Warriors held an 18-14 advantage in shots during that contest while putting 12 shots on goal.
Winona State enters the playoffs ranked third in the NSIC in shots on goal/game (8.63). Defensively, the Warriors have allowed just 17 goals over 16 games this year. Bridget Doran leads a group of veteran defensive players in the backfield. Doran has started all 16 games and played the duration in 14 of those.
Scouting Augustana
The Vikings won their season finale over Concordia-St. Paul in double overtime, 2-1. Prior to that Augustana was blanked by No. 21 Minnesota State, 2-0, and played a scoreless draw with No. 4 Bemidji State.
Augustana has netted 29 goals over 18 games for a 1.6 scoring average, slightly ahead of Winona State (1.4). Defensively, the Vikings have only yielded 12 goals all season with 10 shutouts. Claudia Pueschner ranks second in the NSIC in save percentage (.904), third in goals against average (.645) and fifth in total saves (104). She made 10 saves in a losing effort against the Warriors in the meeting earlier this year.
Grace Behm is one of the most active offensive players in the league, ranking third in the NSIC in shots/game (3.71). She has netted three goals and recorded two assists this year. Alexis Legg leads the team and ranks fourth in the NSIC in goals (9). Morgan Keirstead has tallied a pair of goals, including one against WSU in this season's matchup.
The winner of Wednesday's contest will advance to the NSIC Semifinals against the winner of #2 Minnesota State vs. #7 Concordia-St. Paul. That game will be played on Friday, November 2 and hosted by the highest remaining seed.
