NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The final is set for the 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Women’s Soccer Tournament and it will be the top two seeds who will duke it out on Saturday to determine this year’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Soccer Tournament.
The home teams both moved on on Wednesday, but had to do it in dramatically different ways. No. 2 seed Elmhurst University ran into a brick wall in No. 6 seed Carroll University’s Ava Lewandowski, but the Bluejays were able to advance in a penalty shootout to see off the upset bid after a scoreless 110 minutes. In the nightcap, No. 1 seed North Central College scored three times in a nine-minute span of the first half to put away No. 4 Wheaton College, 3-0.
On Saturday, North Central will host Elmhurst in the championship match beginning at 1 p.m. at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium in Naperville.
No. 1 North Central 3, No. 4 Wheaton 0
North Central did its work in the first half, opening the scoring in the 23rd minute and adding goals in the 25th and 31st minutes to build a comfortable lead over the Thunder. On the other end of the field, the NCC defense didn’t allow Wheaton a shot of any kind until the 49th minute and gave up only one shot on goal in the match.
The game-winning goal was credited to Reese Anderson as she flicked home a header on the feed from Kara Waishwall. Less than two minutes later, the lead was doubled as Anderson dribbled away from Wheaton defenders and played Baylee Burbidge into space. Burbidge then rocketed a shot into the top corner from outside the 18-yard box for the 2-0 edge.
A third goal from the Cardinals essentially put any Thunder hopes of a comeback to bed. Madison DeVriendt lined up a shot from distance that Wheaton keeper Lydia Martin saved and pushed up onto the crossbar. Sissi Loza was the first to react to the carom off the bar and her follow-up shot just snuck past Martin at the near post.
Emma Megerle made one save on the night for North Central and earned the shutout in goal. Jordan Lange had a match-high seven shots, with three on target.
No. 2 Elmhurst 0, No. 6 Carroll 0 (Elmhurst advances, 5-4, on penalty kicks)
For 110 minutes, the story of this match was Ava Lewandowski and the Carroll defense. Despite not being credited with a shot on goal until the 102nd minute and finishing the match at a 13-1 deficit in total shots, the Pioneers hung on and sent the match to a penalty shootout behind Lewandowski’s nine saves.
In the shootout, Elmhurst made the tactical decision of inserting Sequoia Ross as goalkeeper despite the shutout in the match from Erin Fitzharris. It immediately paid dividends for the Bluejays as Ross saved the first shot she saw and EU took an early edge. That lead lasted until the third penalty taker when an Elmhurst shot banged off the crossbar, leaving the score even at 2-2 through three shooters.
The score remained even at 3-3 and 4-4, with Fitzharris coming on to take a spot kick at one point. Courtney Conlon made a vital penalty to extend the match past five penalty takers when a miss would have ended the match and sent Carroll on to the final.
The difference came in the sixth round when Ross made her second save of the shootout. Emily Herlihy then delivered the knockout blow, sending the Bluejays into the championship match for the first time in program history.