2021 Horizon League women's soccer tournament
The 2021 Horizon League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Horizon League. It was held from October 31 through November 6, 2021. The quarterfinals of the tournament were held at campus sites, while semifinals and final took place at Engelmann Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The six team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Milwaukee Panthers were the defending champions, and they successfully defended their title by beating the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 2–0 in the final.[1][2] This was the fourteenth overall title for Milwaukee and fourth for head coach Troy Fabiano. This was also Milwaukee's fourth consecutive title.[3] As tournament champions, Milwaukee earned the Horizon League's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.
| 2021 Horizon League women's soccer tournament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Division I | ||||
| Teams | 6 | ||||
| Matches | 5 | ||||
| Attendance | 1,324 | ||||
| Site | Engelmann Field Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Semifinals & Final) | ||||
| Champions | Milwaukee (14th title) | ||||
| Winning coach | Troy Fabiano (4th title) | ||||
| MVP | Lesley Kiesling (Milwaukee) | ||||
| Broadcast | ESPN+ | ||||
| |||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee †‡y | 11 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 18 | – | 1 | – | 0 | .947 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oakland | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | .864 | 11 | – | 9 | – | 1 | .548 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Kentucky | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | .636 | 10 | – | 8 | – | 2 | .550 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green Bay | 4 | – | 2 | – | 5 | .591 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 6 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 5 | – | 5 | – | 1 | .500 | 6 | – | 11 | – | 2 | .368 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 4 | – | 5 | – | 2 | .455 | 5 | – | 8 | – | 6 | .421 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wright State | 3 | – | 6 | – | 2 | .364 | 5 | – | 10 | – | 3 | .361 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IUPUI | 3 | – | 6 | – | 2 | .364 | 4 | – | 11 | – | 3 | .306 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 2 | – | 5 | – | 4 | .364 | 2 | – | 11 | – | 5 | .250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris | 2 | – | 6 | – | 3 | .318 | 6 | – | 10 | – | 3 | .395 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Mercy | 2 | – | 7 | – | 2 | .273 | 3 | – | 13 | – | 2 | .222 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UIC | 2 | – | 7 | – | 2 | .273 | 2 | – | 12 | – | 3 | .206 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – 2021 Horizon League Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of December 7, 2021 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll Source:Horizon League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeding
Six Horizon League schools participated in the tournament, and teams were seeded by conference record. No tiebreakers were required as each team finished with a unique points total.[4]
| Seed | School | Conference Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee | 11–0–0 | 33 |
| 2 | Oakland | 9–1–1 | 28 |
| 3 | Northern Kentucky | 7–4–0 | 21 |
| 4 | Green Bay | 4–2–5 | 17 |
| 5 | Cleveland State | 5–5–1 | 16 |
| 6 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 4–5–2 | 14 |
Bracket
Semifinal matchups were determined by the results of the quarterfinals. The #1 seed would play the lowest-remaining seed, while the #2 seed would play the other quarterfinal winner.[5]
| Quarterfinals Monday, Oct. 31 | Semifinals Thursday, Nov. 4 | Final Saturday, Nov. 5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Milwaukee | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Green Bay | 4 | 4 | Green Bay | 0 | |||||||||
| 5 | Cleveland State | 0 | 1 | Milwaukee | 2 | |||||||||
| 2 | Oakland | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Oakland | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Northern Kentucky (a.e.t.) | 1 | 3 | Northern Kentucky | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 0 | ||||||||||||
Schedule
Quarterfinals
| October 31, 2021 | #3 Northern Kentucky | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | #6 Purdue Fort Wayne | Highland Heights, KY |
| 1:00 p.m. ET |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: NKU Soccer Stadium Attendance: 267 Referee: Kevin Fikar Assistant referees: Noah Matos James Duling Fourth official: Brandon Cusmano |
| October 31, 2021 | #4 Green Bay | 4–0 | #5 Cleveland State | Green Bay, WI |
| 1:00 p.m. CT |
|
Report | Stadium: Aldo Santaga Stadium Attendance: 147 Referee: Art Arustamyan Assistant referees: Sean West Tim Csuri Fourth official: Anthony Voulgaris |
Semifinals
| November 4, 2021 | #1 Milwaukee | 2–0 | #4 Green Bay | Milwaukee, WI |
| 1:00 p.m. CT |
|
Report | Stadium: Engelmann Field Attendance: 341 Referee: Brian Miller Assistant referees: Ali Zolgharnian Ryan Slack Fourth official: Quinton McFarlen |
| November 4, 2021 | #2 Oakland | 3–1 | #3 Northern Kentucky | Milwaukee, WI |
| 4:00 p.m. CT |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Engelmann Field Attendance: 138 Referee: Heber Estada Assistant referees: Shane Richards Khalef Al-Latayfeh Fourth official: Quinton McFarlen |
Final
| November 6, 2021 | #1 Milwaukee | 2–0 | #2 Oakland | Milwaukee, WI |
| 1:00 p.m. CT |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Engelmann Field Attendance: 431 Referee: Nicholas Balcer Assistant referees: Steve Besk Justin Tatsak Fourth official: Quinton McFarlen |
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 13 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 2.6 goals per match (as of November 6, 2021).
2 goals
- Emily Murphy – Green Bay
- Lesley Kiesling – Milwaukee
1 goal
- Hannah Bennett – Green Bay
- McKayla Kertscher – Green Bay
- Maggy Henschler – Milwaukee
- Rachel Philpotts – Milwaukee
- Lydia Self – Northern Kentucky
- Megan Sullivan – Northern Kentucky
- Ashley Postma – Oakland
- Sharon Sampson – Oakland
- Maggie Rimer – Oakland
All-Tournament team
Source:[6]
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Lesley Kiesling | Milwaukee |
| Elaina LaMacchia | |
| Maggy Henschler | |
| Rachel Phillpotts | |
| Sami Lopez | Oakland |
| Sophie Wilsey | |
| Kendra Zak | |
| Savanna Hayes | Green Bay |
| Emily Murphy | |
| Lydia Self | Northern Kentucky |
| Megan Sullivan |
MVP in bold
References
- "2021 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship". horizonleague.org. Horizon League. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- "2021 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship". horizonleague.org. Horizon League. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- "Horizon League Women's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). horizonleague.org. Horizon League. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- "Milwaukee Claims No. 1 seed as #HLWSOC Championship Bracket Set". horizonleague.org. Horizon League. October 27, 2021. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- "2021 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship Bracket" (PDF). horizonleague.org. Horizon League. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
- "Milwaukee Earns Fourth Consecutive #HLWSOC Title". horizonleague.org. Horizon League. November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.