HCAC TOURNAMENT PROGRAM
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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology women's soccer team hits the road for Franklin College and the semifinals of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
The Fightin' Engineers completed the regular season at 12-4-1 overall and 6-2-1 in HCAC play. Rose-Hulman has earned the No. 3 seed for the tournament and will travel to No. 2 seeded Franklin (11-2-4, 7-0-2 HCAC). The appearance marks Rose-Hulman's second consecutive year in the HCAC Women's Soccer Tournament.
Rose-Hulman closed the regular season five wins, one draw and one loss in its last seven matches. The Fightin' Engineers secured their HCAC Tournament trip with victories of 2-1 over Anderson and 2-0 over Bluffton last week.
Freshman Eliska Saiz leads the Fightin' Engineer offense with six goals and 13 points. Junior Hayley Gilliam has added three goals, seven assists and 13 points. Junior Kate DeMoss ranks third on the squad with four goals, three assists and 11 points.
Freshman Madeline Romeo has scored three goals with three assists this season, and senior Haley O'Neil has added two goals and three assists to the offensive performance.
Defensively, junior Lucinda Combs entered the week ranked No. 7 nationally in save percentage at .908. She has recorded 10 solo shutouts and the team has tied a school record with 11 shutouts this fall. Combs has a 0.64 goals against average and 109 saves in 17 starts.
The experienced back line of the Fightin' Engineer defense includes a pair of seniors in Mackenzie Christensen and Margaret Murphy. Christensen has started all 74 matches of her career, and Murphy enters the HCAC Tournament with 69 starts. Junior Mallory McDevitt has started all 56 games in her Fightin' Engineer career, and the defensive experience includes junior Helena Bomber (39 career starts), junior Cassidy Cain (34 starts) and junior Katie Maier (29 starts).
Rose-Hulman seeks its first conference tournament win since earning the HCAC Tournament title in 2007. Franklin enters the week at 11-2-4 overall and 7-0-2 in conference play. Masey Bunn leads the Grizzlies offense with eight goals and 17 points, while freshman Haley Lowe has scored six goals with four assists. Freshman goalkeeper Jessica Young is 8-0-3 in net.
Admission to the match, set by the HCAC, is $8 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and students, and free for children under the age of 11 years old. All students, faculty, and staff members from both conference schools will receive free admission by showing their college ID.
The winner of Tuesday night's match will travel to No. 1 seeded Hanover for the HCAC championship match on Saturday at 1 p.m.
