GAMEDAY: Women’s soccer team faces Albion in MIAA Tournament first round

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College women's soccer team travels to play Albion College in the first round of the 2018 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Davis Athletic Complex in Albion.

THE MATCHUP: Olivet (8-8-2, 4-4 MIAA) vs. Albion (7-8-2, 4-3-1 MIAA)
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m.
VENUE: Davis Athletic Complex; Albion, Mich.
LIVE STATS: olivetcomets.com/sports/wsoc/2018-19/boxscores/20181027_g4bi.xml
LIVE VIDEO: youtube.com/watch?v=_OIWgQSf-ig

MIAA TOURNAMENT: The Comets are the No. 5 seed, while the Britons are the No. 4 seed. The other first round game features No. 3 seed Calvin College hosting No. 6 seed Kalamazoo College. The winner of the Olivet vs. Albion game will travel to play No. 1 seed Hope College, while the Calvin vs. Kalamazoo winner will travel to play No. 2 seed Adrian College. Both semifinals will take place next Wednesday, Oct. 31, and start at 7 p.m. The championship game is next Saturday, Nov. 3, at the highest remaining seed and a time to be determined.

SEASON SERIES: Albion won the only regular season meeting, 2-0, on Oct. 13, at the Davis Athletic Complex. The Britons scored their first goal with just 11 seconds remaining in the first half, and the second just three minutes into the second half.

OLIVET HEAD COACH DOUG CARTER: Doug Carter is in his first season as the Comets' head coach. He came to Olivet after a successful coaching career at Northwood University in Midland. He was the head coach for the men's program from 2001-17, while also leading the women's team from 1998-2010. In 29 combined years, the Wolves posted a 239-246-31 record.

ALBION HEAD COACH ERIC SCOTT:  Eric Scott is in his sixth season at the helm of the Britons and has a 48-52-12 record. Prior to starting at Albion in 2013, he was the head men's soccer coach at Madonna University and assistant coach at Schoolcraft College.

CAPTAINS: The captains are seniors Emma Essen, of Blissfield, and Ann Fetzer, of Holly.

SCORING LEADERS: Essen leads the Comets in scoring with 24 points on 11 goals and two assists. Freshman Amelia Northern, of Plainwell, junior Abby Radcliffe, of Davison, and sophomore Samantha Torres, of Lansing, each have seven points. Northern has three goals and one assist, while Radcliffe and Torres have two goals and team-high three assists apiece.

GAME-WINNING GOALS: Essen has scored six game-winning goals this season, including three against MIAA rivals. The three against league opponents were all in 1-0 decisions.

PROTECTING THE NET: Sophomore Samantha Gifford, of Lansing, has started in goal for 17 games and has a 1.16 goals against average (GAA).

STARTING 17 GAMES: Essen, Fetzer, and senior McKenna Graham, of Brighton, and junior Maya Prewitt, of Flushing, have started 17 games for the Comets.

ALL-MIAA: Essen and Fetzer have earned 2018 All-MIAA Second Team honors. Essen is a repeat honoree, as she was a First Team selection in 2017.

SENIORS: This year's roster features four seniors, Essen, Fetzer, Graham and Kaitlin Irish, of Grand Ledge. These four seniors have helped Olivet win 40 total games, the most by a graduating class in 15 years.

SMART PLAYERS: For the 2017-18 academic year, Olivet had the highest GPA, 3.824, among the 92 teams honored with the MIAA Team GPA Award. Twenty-two of 25 players on last year's team were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll for having a 3.50 or higher GPA for the entire academic year.

MIAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Olivet is making its 10th appearance in the MIAA Tournament. A year ago, the Comets defeated Adrian College, 5-4, on penalty kicks to advance to the championship game for only the second time in school history. Olivet won the MIAA Tournament in 1998 after it defeated Saint Mary's (Ind.), 6-1, in the first round; Calvin, 2-0, in the semifinals; and Kalamazoo, 5-3, in the championship game. The Comets' only other win in the MIAA Tournament was in 1999 when they defeated Saint Mary's, 3-0, in the first round.