The No. 24 Baker University women’s soccer team suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 17 Benedictine College in the semifinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament Tuesday in Atchison.
In the regular season matchup between the Wildcats and Ravens, BU lost to Benedictine 3-2 after owning a 2-1 halftime advantage, but Baker was never able to take a lead Tuesday.
Benedictine got on the scoreboard early as senior Erin O’Brien found the back of the net past sophomore keeper Rachel Theobald just nine minutes into the game.
Sophomore Bethany Smith put her shot away in the 32nd minute of the game to increase the Ravens’ lead to 2-0.
Sophomore Alexa Fryer answered with a goal of her own to put Baker on the board just before halftime, but the Ravens suppressed any chance of a comeback as senior Natalie Henson increased their lead to 3-1 and put the game away midway through the second half.
While their chances of being back-to-back HAAC champions have been squashed, there is still a possibility the Wildcats could earn an at-large bid for a spot in the 2012 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Tournament. The tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday and nationals will be held in Orange Beach, Ala., from Nov. 26-Dec 1.
Benedictine will move on to to face Graceland, the No. 1 ranked team in HAAC. The championship game of the conference tournament will take place on Friday in Lamoni, Iowa. The winner will have an automatic bid to nationals.
