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Chicagoland collegiate athletic conference
Top Four Seeds Advance In Action-Filled Women's Tourney Opening Round

Top Four Seeds Advance In Action-Filled Women's Tourney Opening Round

CHICAGO --- Each of the top four seeds advanced to the semifinal round of the 2024 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament, but not without some high-stakes drama on Wednesday.  Of the four matches played, two were decided by one goal and another ended on penalty kicks.

When the dust had settled, top-seeded St. Ambrose University's goal in the opening minute held up in a 1-0 victory over No. 8 Viterbo University, while No. 3 University of St. Francis waited until the last 16 seconds of regulation before claiming a 2-1 win over No. 6 Judson University.  No. 4 Holy Cross College, meanwhile, advanced on penalty kicks (3-1) after tying No. 5 Saint Xavier University 3-3, with No. 2 Olivet Nazarene University getting past No. 7 Trinity Christian College 3-1.

That sets up Saturday's semifinal round with St. Ambrose (12-5-2) hosting Holy Cross (8-7-4) at 3 pm and St. Francis (9-5-5) traveling to Olivet Nazarene (8-4-6).  The finals are set for next Wednesday at the site of the highest remaining seed.

Recapping Wednesday:

St. Ambrose 1, Viterbo 0
Kendall Wendt's
goal 27 seconds into the contest held up as the game-winner as St. Ambrose extended its winning streak to nine straight matches.  Grace Kuchar stopped a pair of shots to record her ninth shutout of the season.

Olivet Nazarene 3, Trinity Christian 1
Olivet Nazarene tallied three unanswered goals in the second half to score the victory after Trinity Christian took a 1-0 lead five minutes into the contest.  The first two Tiger goals were delivered by Aaliyah Racadio-Kahoohanohano nine minutes apart, the first one coming two minutes after halftime and the latter one in the 55th minute.  Hannah Dela Vega provided an insurance goal in the 87th minute.

St. Francis 2, Judson 1
Ariadne Gonzalez's
free kick with 16 seconds left catapulted St. Francis to the semifinal round of the postseason.  The goal was the second of two unanswered by the Saints, who also scored in the 67th minute to offset Kelly Leon's goal for Judson in the 33rd minute. 

Holy Cross 3, Saint Xavier 3 (HCC advances on PKs 3-1)
After a scoreless tie through the first 70 minutes, the two teams went back-and-forth over the next 16, resulting in the highest-scoring game of the first round and the only contest to go overtime.  The final three goals of the match came in the last six minutes of regulation and just three minutes apart.  Saint Xavier rallied from one-goal deficits twice, while Holy Cross did so once.  SXU took a 1-0 lead in the shootout after the first round before Holy Cross responded with three unanswered tallies the rest of the way.

The complete tournament schedule and results follow:

Wednesday, November 6 - First Round
• Match #1: No. 1 St. Ambrose 1, No. 8 Viterbo 0
• Match #2: No.4 Holy Cross 3, No. 5 Saint Xavier 3 (HCC advances on penalty kicks 3-1)
• Match #3: No. 2 Olivet Nazarene 3, No. 7 Trinity Christian 1
• Match #4: No. 3 St. Francis 2, No. 6 Judson 1

Saturday, November 9 - Semifinal Round
• Match #5: No. 4 Holy Cross (8-7-4) at No. 1 St. Ambrose (12-5-2) --- 3 pm
• Match #6: No. 3 St. Francis (9-5-5) at No. 2 Olivet Nazarene (8-4-6) --- 6 pm

Wednesday, November 16 – Championship
• Match #7: Winner-Match #5 vs. Winner-Match #6 --- TBA (at site of highest remaining seed)