WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The Lakers venture away from Allendale for the first time this post-season as the NCAA Tournament opens the third round this Friday (Nov. 17) on the campus of Central Missouri for a battle of two top-10 teams in the Midwest Region finals. The No. 4 Lakers face off against the No. 9 Quincy Hawks at 12:00 PM ET (11:00 AM locally in Missouri) for the right to face the winner of the Central Region on Sunday (Nov. 19), who will be decided in the match following the Lakers in Warrensburg on Friday.
The Lakers (19-3-0) have yet to concede in the post-season, outscoring their opponents by an aggregate 20-0 over the four matches. The Lakers ran through the GLIAC Tournament en route to their 11
th straight tournament crown, earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and took full advantage with a 4-0 win last Sunday in their second-round matchup with Ohio Dominican.
Gabriella Mencotti, who this week was named D2CCA Midwest Region Player of the Year, scored a pair of goals in the match Sunday, continuing a trend of dominating play by the senior this post-season. Mencotti was named GLIAC Tournament MVP with five goals and three assists in the three matches. She has 17 points this post-season. Mencotti was one of five Lakers to earn first-team All-Region honors from D2CCA. Midfielders
Tara Lierman and
Dani Johnson plus defenders
Cecilia Steinwascher and
Shannon Quinn were all named to the first team while freshman
Ava Cook was second team as a forward.
Johnson, the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, and the Laker back line have been outstanding again this season, pitching 17 shutouts including all four post-season matches. The Lakers conceded seven goals in their first two matches of the season, starting the year 0-2, but have yielded just four goals in the 20 matches since, winning 19 of those 20 contests.
"This is the time of year that we need to put everything together," said Lakers head coach
Jeff Hosler. "Our last time out was one of more complete performances and it will require the same to beat a very good Quincy side."
One of those shutout wins came in a neutral site match against these Hawks (17-3-1) back in September. The Hawks had a tough draw in the GLVC Tournament, needing penalty kicks to advance past sixth-ranked Bellarmine after a scoreless draw in the semifinals before a 3-0 loss to McKendree in the tournament finals. The Hawks faced Bellarmine yet again in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, knocking off the Knights, 2-1, to advance to the regional finals.
Offensively, the Hawks are led by McKenzie Rief's ten goals on 109 shots this season. A team predicated on defense, Quincy has netted just 30 goals this season but conceded only 14 times. A big reason behind the Hawks success is a stout back line and 5'5" senior goalkeeper Megan Swanson, who's recorded 91 saves this year.
"Dave Musso teams are always well organized and stingy defensively, so it will take sound decision making, quality possession and an aggressive attacking mindset to break them down and score. We must get numbers in front of goal and be opportunistic," said Hosler.
The Lakers aim to extend their stay in Warrensburg and earn another trip to the Elite 8. With two top-ten teams set to square off Friday, the Lakers know there are no easy games from here on out. They'll lean on their senior leadership, post-season experience and technical skill in hopes of landing the Hawks season Friday afternoon.
