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The Allegheny women's soccer team, which earned the No. 3 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, will travel to Springfield, Ohio, on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. semifinal against second-seed Wittenberg -- the same school which eliminated the Gators from last year's conference playoffs.
On Oct. 24, the Gators (11-5-2, 4-2-2) and Tigers (9-4-5, 11-5-2) played to a scoreless tie at Wittenberg during the regular season. Allegheny goalkeeper Emily Karr made six saves while Wittenberg goalie Melissa Gartner stopped three shots. The decision was the third consecutive 0-0 score between the teams.
Last season at Wittenberg, the Tigers claimed a 4-2 penalty-kick shoot-out win over Allegheny in the conference semifinals. The teams preceded the shootout with a scoreless tie -- their second such stalemate after a 0-0 decision during the regular season in Meadville.
The last actual win by either side came on Oct. 20, 2007, when the Tigers claimed a 1-0 victory. Allegheny's last win was a 1-0 victory on Oct. 18, 2003. Since then, the Gators have gone 0-3-4 against Wittenberg.
Denison (15-2-2, 7-0-1), the conference regular season champ, enters the NCAC Tournament as the top seed. The Big Red will host Earlham (11-6-1, 4-3-1), the fourth seed, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Quakers are making their first-ever and final appearance in the NCAC playoffs. Earlham is leaving the NCAC to become a member of the the Heartland Conference after this academic year.
The Big Red have qualified for every tournament since the NCAC introduced the concept in 2000, making 2009 their 10th appearance. They won the tournament in 2003.
Wittenberg has qualified eight times and is the three-time defending champ (2006-08) while Allegheny will be making its seventh appearance. Ohio Wesleyan leads all NCAC schools with five NCAC Tournament titles.
The championship game will be held at the highest-remaining seed on Saturday. The winner will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.