Women's Soccer

COMPLETE BRACKET

Cougars Grab No. 2 Seed
         EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women's soccer has earned the No. 2 seed for the 48-team NCAA Division II Tournament.
         The Cougars, 13-4-1 and ranked No. 15 in the NSCAA/NCAA Division II poll, will have bye in the first round of the tournament. SIUE will be a host site for the first round as Great Lakes Valley Conference champion Drury (15-4-3), the region's No. 3 seed, and West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Association champion West Virginia Wesleyan (15-4-2), the region's No. 6 seed, meet Friday at 6 p.m. at Korte Stadium.
         SIUE facess the winner of Friday's matchup Sunday at 1 p.m., also at Korte Stadium.
         SIUE Coach Lynda Bowers said the bye will be beneficial for her Cougars.
         "It makes a big difference having the extra rest and being at home," she said.
         This will be SIUE's fifth appearance in the NCAA Championships in women's soccer. Bowers previously coached the 2005 team to the NCAA Tournament.
         Bowers said she took something away from the 1-0 loss to Grand Valley State in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
         "Other teams will capitalize on our mistakes so we have to minimize our mistakes to be successful," she said.
         SIUE's offense has been led this season by senior Katie Yearian (Waterloo) and junior Elizabeth Valenti (Overland Park, Kan.). The duo each have nine goals, five assists, and three game-winning goals.
         "We have to look to their leadership," said Bowers. "They're going to have to carry a lot of their team on their shoulders, but I think they're ready for that."
         Bowers said it will likely be the intangibles that prove SIUE's fate in the postseason. SIUE did not have the intensity it needed when it was ousted from the GLVC Tournament by Missouri-St. Louis this past Friday, she noted.
         "The biggest wake-up call is just to compete hard for 90 minutes. We have to bring more intangibles to our game," said Bowers.
         The other side of the bracket in the Great Lakes Regional will be held at Grand Valley State, the No. 1 seed in the region. No. 1-ranked Grand Valley (19-0) will have an opening-round bye and will face the winner of fourth-seeded and No. 22-ranked Quincy (13-5) and fifth-seeded Mercyhurst (13-4-2). The site winners from Grand Valley State and SIU Edwardsville will play next weekend at a site to be announced.
NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Championships
at Edwardsville, Ill. (Korte Stadium)
Friday, November 9
#3 Drury (15-4-3) vs. #6 West Virginia Wesleyan (15-4-2), 6 p.m. CT

Sunday, November 11
#2 SIU Edwardsville (13-4-1) vs. winner of Drury/W.V. Wesleyan, 1 p.m. CT


                  -siue cougars-