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Files associated with this release:
2005 Men's Soccer NCAA Release
Western Illinois to face Notre Dame in NCAA Men’s College Cup
Western Illinois, 2005 Mid-Con Men's Soccer Champions |
ELMHURST, ILL. — The Western Illinois Leathernecks earned their second consecutive Mid-Continent Conference men’s soccer title with a 4-3 overtime victory over top-seeded Oakland Sunday. In addition to the Mid-Con crown, the Leathernecks garnered the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men’s College Cup in which WIU will face regionally-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., at 5 p.m. Nov. 18. The winner of the contest will go on to face third-seeded Indiana in the second round of the Men’s College Cup on Tuesday, Nov. 22.
Western Illinois (6-9-4, 3-1-2 Mid-Con) and head coach Eric Johnson posted a pair of exciting upset wins in the Mid-Con Championship. In the semifinal contest, WIU scored a first half goal, only to see second-seeded Oral Roberts tie the game after the break. The two teams went on to penalty kicks where the Leathernecks advanced with a 4-3 win. In the Championship game, WIU scored three times in the first half before Oakland came back to tie it in the second frame with three goals of its own. Nick Bohnenkamp scored his fifth goal of the season in the 97th minute to lift the Leathernecks to the 4-3 win.
The Leathernecks are led by All Mid-Con first team selections Nowaf Jaman, Kosuke Kimura and Luke Greenwell. Jaman is third in the Mid-Con with 22 points via nine goals and four assists. He continued his solid play in the conference tournament with three assists. Kimura is tied for the Mid-Con lead in assists with six while leading the defensive unit from his midfield position. Greenwell has been a solid defender all season as the Leathernecks allow just 1.74 goals per game. Junior midfielder Nick Bohnenkamp took home Tournament MVP accolades after scoring a goal in each game and dishing out an assist in the Championship match. Bohnenkamp is eighth in the league in points with 16 via five goals and six assists.
The Leathernecks are 2-4-0 all-time against the Fightin’ Irish with the most-recent meeting taking place in 1996. Western Illinois is 0-1-0 against Big East foes this season, but the lone loss was a 1-0 decision to DePaul on Sept. 3. As a whole, the Mid-Con was 0-10-1 (.046) against non-league foes that made the NCAA College Cup field.
The Mid-Con first sent representatives to the NCAA Tournament in 1983, when former members Eastern Illinois and UW-Green Bay made the field. The conference went 14 years without a berth until former associate member Howard made the 1997 field. The Mid-Con has had a participant in the NCAA tournament each of the last six years, including a pair of berths by UMKC and Oakland in 2003. The conference’s record all-time in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament is 1-9.
 
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