(WILMINGTON, Ohio) - The Wilmington College women's soccer team clinched a share of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season championship for the first time since 2003, securing the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Wilmington will host the No. 6 seed Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets on Tuesday at 4 P.M. at Williams Stadium.

Season Overview
In Head Coach Nick Kinder's fourth season, the Quakers finished in the highest spot of his tenure thus far. Wilmington finished the regular season 9-5-4 overall with a conference record of 4-2-2. Impressively, the Quakers at home went 7-1-1 in the regular season. The Quakers have made the OAC tournament for the third year in a row but are looking for their first conference tournament win since 2008 against Baldwin Wallace.

The Quakers dynamic attack has been their calling card. Wilmington finished tied for first with Capital University in goals scored with 27. Their 252 shots are the most in the conference. Alex Wilson, Wilmington's elusive senior forward, leads the conference with 68 shots, 10 goals, and six game-winning goals.

Midfielder Jordan Snyder has also been critical to the Quakers success this season. Snyder scored eight goals and tallied three assists. Her relentless style of play in the midfield has allowed the forwards and wingers to open outside. Fellow sophomore midfielder Gracie King and freshman Olivia Roye pair well with Snyder. King collected two assists in 18 games, and Roye also featured in all 18. The young midfield duo accounted for the third and fourth most minutes played by any Wilmington player this year.

Junior forward MJ Little has been a crucial key to the Quakers offense on the wing. Little finished second in the conference with four assists and three goals for the Quakers. Freshman forward Delaney Benjamin appeared in all 18 games with two starts but is usually Coach Kinder's first option off the bench. She scored one goal with two assists but progressed over the season.

The defense has been led by junior captain Emma Storck in the net. Storck made 77 saves in the regular season and recorded four shutouts while starting in all 18 games. Sophomore center back Lindsey Bauer was the only other Quaker to start all 18 matches. Sophomore defender Maren Johannesen has been a staple on the Wilmington backline as well.

Opponent Preview
The Quakers hosted Baldwin Wallace in the regular season where Wilmington defeated the Yellow Jackets 3-1 at Williams Stadium. Delaney Benjamin scored first and then assisted Jordan Snyder who had a brace in that match. The Yellow Jackets scored late in the 74th minute and took 17 shots, but only six were on target. Wilmington had 19 shots with 11 on target.

Baldwin Wallace finished the regular season 4-10-4 overall, with a conference record of 3-3-2. The Yellow Jackets won their final match against Muskingum University 7-0. Overall, Baldwin Wallace scored 18 goals, good for fourth in the OAC. Notably, they have allowed 31 goals, only second to Muskingum University. Opponents averaged 1.72 goals against the Yellow Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets had an away record of 1-5-3, with their only win coming against Ohio Northern on October 8th. Forward Kalyn Rich, their leading goal scorer, has five goals and two assists this season. Rich has three game winning goals and leads the team in points with 12. Midfielder Sophie Kirsten is second on the team with five points, scoring two goals and recording one assist. Maria Dee, Sydni Mudge, and Delaine Zura scored two goals each for the Yellow Jackets. Goalkeeper Kelly Carver has made 99 saves in 18 matches. Carver has given up 27 goals but has posted five shutouts.

From Coach Kinder
"Winning a league title was a goal we felt we had the ability to do from day 1 and it feels great to check that first box. Goal 2 is to win the conference tournament and I can't wait to get back at it and compete this week."
 
"Every player has truly played a part in our success to this point. We've faced a lot of adversity with season-ending injuries, a challenging schedule, and some tough bounces along the way but every time we bounce back in a big way. We've had 21 different players start a game this year which shows how much depth this team has."
 
"We've been the highest scoring team in the league this year and after experiencing postseason play each of the last two years we feel we are ready to carry momentum into the tournament this year and make a run toward another championship."
 
OAC Preview
Around the rest of the conference tournament, Otterbein University secured the No. 1 seed, and Capital University took the No. 2 seed with the three-way tie for the regular season championship.

The other first round matchup features No. 5 seed Ohio Northern University traveling to take on No. 4 seed The University of Mount Union on Tuesday at 4:00 P.M.

The semifinals will be played at Otterbein University and Capital University on Thursday, November 6th. The championship is set for Sunday, November 9th.