FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 15, 2004
CONTACT: Sarah Lingenfelter, Media Relations (585) 567-9559

HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Houghton College has earned the No. 8 seed for the 21st Annual NAIA Women's Soccer National Tournament in Santa Barbara, Calif., November 17-23.

The Highlanders will take on No. 9 seed Lee University (Tenn.) on Friday, Nov. 19 at 10:30 p.m. EST.

Houghton (19-0-0), which captured the NAIA Region IX title last week, is making its fifth national tournament appearance in the last seven years and sixth overall. This fall they tied a program mark for wins in a season and set a new record for consecutive victories (19). They also set a school mark for consecutive shutouts (16) while outscoring their opponents, 84-4.

The attack is led by freshman Bethany Kowalczyk, who has set a Houghton freshman record with 29 goals on the year. She has also added 12 assists. Senior Casandra Mills (12 goals) leads the team in assists (16) and set a school record for career assists (50) during the year. Senior Rachael Sharp is second on the team in goals scored (13), including six in the last four games. Meg Radimer has played the majority of minutes in goal, recording a 0.30 goals against average in 1215 minutes, while registering four shutouts.

The Lee University Flames (20-3-1) earned their first-ever NAIA tournament appearance with an at-large bid after falling in the Region XIII tournament semifinals. The Flames are one of the highest-scoring NAIA teams this season with 142 goals. They are led by freshman Janaina Novaes (31 goals, 20 assists), a member of the Brazilian National Team. Leanne Slater (18 goals, 8 assists), Jodie McGuckin (17 goals, 24 assists), and Erlie Therlot (16 goals, 23 assists) add to the offensive firepower. Defensively, they are just as tough, allowing just 19 goals and recording 13 shutouts. Caitlin Wohlander has allowed just 18 goals in close to 2,000 minutes in net.

Below is the complete tournament schedule (Times are Pacific):

Reading from the top of the bracket down:
First Round, Wednesday, November 17
#16 University of Mary (N.D.) (15-6-1) vs. #17 Westmont College (Calif.) (9-7-2), 7:30 PM
#20 Oklahoma Christian University (12-10-1) vs. #13 William Jewell College (Mo.) (16-3-1), 4:30 PM
#14 Bethel College (Tenn.) (18-4-0) vs. #19 Park University (Mo.) (13-6-0), 2:15 PM
#15 Spring Arbor University (Mich.) (18-1-3) vs. #18 Embry-Riddle University (Fla.) (11-3-2), Noon

Second Round, Thursday, November 18 & Friday, November 19
#16/#17 Winner vs. #1 Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) (17-0-4), Thursday 7:30 PM
#8 Houghton College (N.Y.) (19-0-0) vs. #9 Lee University (Tenn.) (20-3-1), Friday 7:30 PM
#5 Graceland University (Iowa) (17-0-3) vs. #12 Berry College (Ga.) (17-5-1), Friday 5 PM
#4 Simon Fraser University (B.C.) (14-1-2) vs. #20/#13 Winner, Thursday 5 PM
#14/#19 Winner vs. #3 Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) (15-1-1), Thursday 2:30 PM
#6 Concordia University (Ore.) (16-2-2) vs. #11 Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) (14-3-1), Friday 2:30 PM
#7 Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.) (18-4-1) vs. #10 Biola University (Calif.) (15-1-1), Friday, Noon
#2 Robert Morris College (Ill.) (22-0-0) vs. #15/#18 Winner, Thursday Noon

Quarterfinals, Saturday, November 20
7:30 PM, 5 PM, 2:30 PM, Noon

Semifinals, Monday, November 22
7:30 PM, 5 PM

Championship, Tuesday, November 23
7 PM

More information on the tournament can be found at the following locations:

http://www.naia.org/soc/wsoc/champ.html

http://www.westmont.edu/sports/naia_soccer_tournament/NAIA.html