1. IUPUI will represent the Horizon League after defeating the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee 4-3 in penalty kicks.
2. Monmouth University will represent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) after defeating Manhattan College 5-1.
3. San Diego State will represent the Mountain West Conference (MWC) after defeating New Mexico 3-0.
4. Denver will represent the Summit League after defeating North Dakota State 2-1.
5. Stony Brook will represent the America East Conference (AEC) after defeating Vermont 2-1.
6. USF will represent the American Athletic Conference (AAC) after defeating #8 UCF 5-3 in penalty kicks.
7. La Salle University will represent the Atlantic 10 (A10) after defeating VCU 1-0 in double overtime.
8. Baylor defeated TCU 2-1 in overtime to represent the Big 12.
9. #4 UNC defeated #2 Duke 1-0 to represent the ACC.
10. In the Big Sky, Eastern Washington defeated Northern Colorado 3-0 to secure their spot.
11. High Point University defeated Longwood 1-0 to represent the Big South.
12. #15 Penn State defeated Northwestern 2-1 to secure their spot and represent the Big Ten.
13. Cal State Fullerton defeated Cal State Northridge 1-1 (4-3 in penalty kicks) to represent the Big West.
14. Hofstra defeated Northeastern 2-1 to represent the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).
15. North Texas defeated Charlotte 2-1 in penalty kicks to represent Conference USA (C-USA).
16. Toledo defeated Bowling Green 2-1 in overtime to represent the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
17. Representing the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), Missouri State defeated Northern Iowa 1-0.
18. Saint Francis will represent the Northeast Conference (NEC) after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2 in penalty kicks.
19. Murray State will represent the Ohio Valley Conference after beating Eastern Kentucky 1-0 in overtime.
20. Representing the Patriot League will be Bucknell after defeating Navy 3-2.
21. Representing the SEC will be #11 Texas A&M after they defeated Arkansas 2-1.
22. Representing the Southern Conference will be UNC Greensboro after defeating Western Carolina 1-0.
23. Lamar University will be representing the Southland Conference after defeating Stephen F. Austin 2-0.
24. Representing the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will be Alabama State after defeating Grambling State 4-2 in penalty kicks.
25. Representing the Sun Belt will be South Alabama after defeating Coastal Carolina 5-0.
26. Representing the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) will be Utah Valley after they defeated Seattle 1-1 (3-1 in penalty kicks)
#13 Princeton will represent the Ivy League, #1 Stanford will represent the Pac-12 and #12 Pepperdine Univeristy will represent the West Coast Conference (WCC). All three teams do not have a conference tournament, for they automatically qualify for the national tournament based on winning their season championship.
FGCU will be facing Lipscomb for the third straight time in the A-SUN Championship. Now the last two times both teams faced each other, FGCU came out on top and punched their ticket to the national tournament. During the 2015-16 year, FGCU won 5-0 at FGCU. One year later, FGCU won 2-0 at FGCU once again.
Goal-wise, the players for both teams to keep sharp eyes out for are sophomore forward and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Marjorie Boilesen of FGCU and redshirt senior forward and A-SUN Player of the Year, A-SUN First Team All-Conference and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Ellen Lundy. Both Boilesen and Lundy lead their teams in goals (Boilesen (10), Lundy (7)).
In the semifinal games, FGCU beat JU 2-0 to make it to the finals while Lipscomb beat Kennesaw 1-0 to do the same. The winner goes on to the national tournament as an automatic bid to represent the A-SUN Conference.
Let's fast forward to the second half at the 60 minute mark of the championship game. FGCU (14-3-1, 5-1-1 A-SUN) was down 2-0 in the first half after goals from sophomore Hannah Torbertt and Lundy.
It looked like their journey to the national tournament was slipping from their fingers, but then a miracle happened. Junior midfielder and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Holly Fritz tapped in the first goal for FGCU and her fifth of the season, but it didn't stop there. Nearing the edge of the game ending, junior defender and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member, Camille Knudstrup, tied the game with her fourth goal of the season. The miracle was still in FGCU's grasp.
After the second half ended, the game went into a first overtime, but no one won yet and it would go into double overtime. Heading into the 105th minute of double overtime, the miracle FGCU was hoping for did indeed happened. Senior A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member, Varin Ness, scored the game-winning goal and secured FGCU's spot in the national tournament and defeated Lipscomb (8-7-3, 5-1-1 A-SUN).
"It wasn't easy but sometimes that makes it feel even better," said head coach Jim Blankenship following his program's 13th A-SUN Tournament match victory. "I'm proud of our guys. It wasn't the start we wanted but we talked a lot about trust at halftime and staying within the system. I challenged them by saying this was the first team to have to go on the road, so let's be the first to come back. Our character and mentality were phenomenal tonight."
After the championship game, the A-SUN All-Tournament Team was announced:
Representing Lipscomb was Lundy, senior midfielder and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member, Jade Abarca and redshirt senior and A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Niamh Rawlins.
For FGCU, it was redshirt seniors, A-SUN Defender of the Year, A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Ashley Parks and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Nikki Hudson, Fritz and Ness. Ness was also named A-SUN All-Tournament Team MVP.
Senior forward and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Sope Akindoju and junior Brittany Hundley represented Jacksonville, while senior A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Abby Roth and A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Tiffany Sornpao of Kennesaw were also recognized on the A-SUN All-Tournament Team. Akindoju, Hundley, Roth and Sornpao were not in attendance due to being eliminated from the tournament.
According to the FGCU athletics page, there will be a selection show on November 6 at the Alico Arena where the public are invited to attend. The selection show will determine who FGCU will play, and determine the other teams that automatically qualified and at-large bid teams for the tournament based on their RPI ranking.
It's probably no doubt that some top 10 teams in the top 25 like #2 Duke and #3 South Carolina will be in the tournament because of their high RPI rankings. In fact, Duke despite the loss to UNC, will be in the national tournament as an at-large bid. Nonetheless, FGCU has secured their spot and will be in the national tournament.
After the second half ended, the game went into a first overtime, but no one won yet and it would go into double overtime. Heading into the 105th minute of double overtime, the miracle FGCU was hoping for did indeed happened. Senior A-SUN All-Conference Second Team member, Varin Ness, scored the game-winning goal and secured FGCU's spot in the national tournament and defeated Lipscomb (8-7-3, 5-1-1 A-SUN).
"It wasn't easy but sometimes that makes it feel even better," said head coach Jim Blankenship following his program's 13th A-SUN Tournament match victory. "I'm proud of our guys. It wasn't the start we wanted but we talked a lot about trust at halftime and staying within the system. I challenged them by saying this was the first team to have to go on the road, so let's be the first to come back. Our character and mentality were phenomenal tonight."
After the championship game, the A-SUN All-Tournament Team was announced:
Representing Lipscomb was Lundy, senior midfielder and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member, Jade Abarca and redshirt senior and A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Niamh Rawlins.
For FGCU, it was redshirt seniors, A-SUN Defender of the Year, A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Ashley Parks and A-SUN All-Conference First Team member Nikki Hudson, Fritz and Ness. Ness was also named A-SUN All-Tournament Team MVP.
Senior forward and A-SUN All-Conference Second Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Sope Akindoju and junior Brittany Hundley represented Jacksonville, while senior A-SUN All-Conference First Team and A-SUN All-Academic Team member Abby Roth and A-SUN All-Freshman Team member Tiffany Sornpao of Kennesaw were also recognized on the A-SUN All-Tournament Team. Akindoju, Hundley, Roth and Sornpao were not in attendance due to being eliminated from the tournament.
According to the FGCU athletics page, there will be a selection show on November 6 at the Alico Arena where the public are invited to attend. The selection show will determine who FGCU will play, and determine the other teams that automatically qualified and at-large bid teams for the tournament based on their RPI ranking.
It's probably no doubt that some top 10 teams in the top 25 like #2 Duke and #3 South Carolina will be in the tournament because of their high RPI rankings. In fact, Duke despite the loss to UNC, will be in the national tournament as an at-large bid. Nonetheless, FGCU has secured their spot and will be in the national tournament.
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