WHEATON, Ill. - Webster University is set to return to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday, Nov. 15 as the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season co-champion and SLIAC Tournament Champion Gorloks face host and eighth-ranked Wheaton (Ill.) College on 11 a.m. in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Women's Soccer Regional Tournament at Joe Bean Stadium.

The Gorloks, who earned the automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament from the SLIAC after its 1-0 win on this past Saturday over Greenville University in the championship match of the SLIAC Women's Soccer Tournament, enter the NCAA Tournament having won six consecutive matches, all in shutouts to improve their record to 15-4-1 overall on the season. The regular season co-championship by the Gorloks was its eighth consecutive, while the SLIAC Tournament title was the 10th all-time for Webster and the program's sixth tournament title in the last eight years.

Meanwhile, Wheaton (Ill.) comes into the NCAA Tournament sporting a 16-1-2 overall record and the Thunder have gone 9-0-1 in its last 10 matches with the tie coming in its last outing against Augustana in the semifinals of the CCIW Tournament. In the tournament, Wheaton and Augustana played to a 0-0 draw after two overtimes, but Augustana advanced to the CCIW finals 4-2 on penalty kicks.

The winner of Friday's match between Webster and Wheaton will face either 21st-ranked Case Western Reserve (13-5-6) or the College of Wooster (14-2-3) in a second round match on Saturday at 1 p.m. CWRU and Wooster face each in Friday's other match at Wheaton, which is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff.

Webster comes into the NCAA Tournament riding an offense that has scored 67 goals and recorded 58 assists in 20 matches. Along with scoring a SLIAC-best 67 goals and having a league-best 58 assists, the Gorloks have also tallied 192 points and are averaging 9.60 points per game, which is 10th in Division III. In addition, Webster has taken 464 shots and has put 242 of those shots on goal. On defense, Webster has allowed 13 goals in 20 matches and have recorded 13 shutouts. Over its last six matches, Webster has allowed just 35 shots and 17 shots on goal in recording six consecutive shutouts.

Leading the way for the Gorloks is the offensive trio of sophomore midfielder Jordan Lande (Sachse, Texas/Sachse), senior forward Melissa Kasper (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) and senior midfielder Savannah Page (Sandy, Utah/Jordan). That trio has combined for 45 goals, 29 assists, 119 points and 228 shots in 20 matches. Lande, who was a Third-Team All-SLIAC selection, is second in the league in scoring with 18 goals and tied for third in the league in points with 37, while Kasper, who holds the school's career record for assists with 54 and is one of 10 active Division III players with 30 career goals, 20 career assists and 130 career points and repeated as the SLIAC Offensive Player of the Year, leads the league in both assists (17), points (45) and game winning goals (6) and is third in goals with 14 and Page, who was named a Second-Team All-SLIAC selection, is fifth in the league in goals with 13, third in assists with 11 and is tied for third in points with 37.

In the latest NCAA Division III national statistics, Kasper is fourth nationally in assists per game as she is averaging 0.85 per game and is also fourth nationally in total assists with 17.

Other key offensive players for the Gorloks are senior midfielder Olivia Osterhage (Eureka, Mo./Eureka) and sophomore midfielder Jordan Bilyeu (St. Louis, Mo./Lindbergh). Osterhage, who was a Second-Team All-SLIAC selection, is third on the team in assists with eight and has also scored three goals for a total of 14 points, while Bilyeu, who was a First-Team All-SLIAC honoree, has tallied four goals, including the game winning goal in the 86th minute of last Saturday's SLIAC Tournament title game with Greenville and has added four assists for a total of 12 points.

Webster's defense continues to be one of the best in the country as the Gorloks come into the postseason having allowed just 13 goals on the year, including just one goal in its last 11 matches. The Gorloks have recorded 13 shutouts this season and since the beginning of the 2017 season, Webster has allowed 45 goals in 50 matches and has posted 34 shutouts.

Three of Webster's key defenders this season have been senior Lilly Brauer (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East), freshman Devan Pranchke (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield East) and freshman Reaghan Young (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley). Brauer, who repeated as the SLIAC Defensive Player of the Year this season, Pranchke and Young anchor the back of Webster's defense that allowed a total of 179 shots on the season and limiting 10 teams during the season to fewer than 10 shots.

Another key member of Webster's defense has been freshman goalkeeper Taryn Banfield (Plano, Texas/Plano East). Banfield, who earned three Defensive Player of the Week honors during the regular season and was the MVP of the SLIAC Tournament, leads the league in wins (13), goals against average (0.61), save percentage (.868) and shutouts (11) and has combined on two shutouts with senior goalkeeper Abbey Mercer (Granite City, Ill./Granite City). Banfield has recorded 66 saves and has allowed just 10 goals in 1,555-plus minutes. She is 13-3-1 on the season and enters the NCAA Tournament having recorded a 582-plus minute scoreless streak since allowing a goal in the 48th minute against Fontbonne on Oct. 19.

Webster, who is coached by Luigi Scire, has posted a 2-13-0 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and is making its first appearance in the NCAA's since 2017 when the Gorloks fell 5-0 at Loras College. The Gorloks have played in the second round of the NCAA Tournament four times – 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006. In addition, Webster and Wheaton will be facing each other in the NCAA Tournament for fifth time on Friday and the first time since 2013 when the Thunder picked up a 4-0 win in the first round on Wheaton's home field. The two teams also met in 2002, 2005 and 2012.

While Webster is making its 14th appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament, Wheaton will be making its 22nd all-time appearance this season and the Thunder are 54-15-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and have won three national titles (2004, 2006 and 2007) and were national runners-up in 2008 and 2011. In addition, Wheaton has made seven Final Four appearances and the 54 all-time tournament wins are fourth most among current Division III schools.

Admission for each day is for $6 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens, $2 for ages 3-12. Children under three-years-old will be admitted for free. No free passes will be accepted.
 
The winner of the regional hosted by Wheaton, will advance to face the winner of the regional hosted by Saint Thomas (Minn.) in the sectional round, which is scheduled for Nov. 22-24. The Division III National semifinals and championship match are scheduled for Dec. 6-7 at UNCG Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.

Wheaton Regional Schedule
Friday, November 15
Game 1 – Wheaton (16-1-2) vs. Webster (15-4-1), 11 a.m.
Game 2 – Case Western Reserve (13-5-6) vs. College of Wooster (14-2-3), 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 16
Game 3 – Friday's winners, 1 p.m.