SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – No. 2 ranked Spring Arbor University defeated No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan University 2-1 on Saturday at the Cougar Soccer Complex to claim the 2023 Crossroads League Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid to the 40th annual NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship.
The Cougars conceded an early goal but battled back to tie the score before halftime, and senior
Lauren Marshall provided what proved to be the game-winner in the 52nd minute to secure SAU's first conference title since 2018 and the 11th in program history.
THE BASICS
SCORE: (2) Spring Arbor 2, (7) Indiana Wesleyan 1
LOCATION: Spring Arbor, Mich. | Cougar Soccer Complex
RECORDS: Spring Arbor 17-0-2, Indiana Wesleyan 15-2-4
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
- Indiana Wesleyan struck first getting a goal from Taylor Archbold just over three minutes into the match.
- Spring Arbor leveled the match in the 32nd as Megan Mihaly was able to capitalize off a corner kick opportunity.
- The Cougars were able to convert on another corner kick early in the second half. In the 52nd minute, Ariana Stoltzfus connected with Marshall, who was able to head it past the IWU goalkeeper for the go-ahead goal.
- Spring Arbor outshot Indiana Wesleyan 20-3 and finished with a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT
The NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship field will be announced on Monday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. on the NAIA's YouTube channel.
The first and second rounds of the tournament will be played on Nov. 16-18 at campus sites. The winner of each host site will advance to the final site in Foley, Alabama.
