The 2023 Horizon League women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Horizon League. It was held from October 29 through November 4, 2023. The quarterfinals of the tournament were held at campus sites, while semifinals and final took place at Engelmann Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[1] The six team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The Milwaukee Panthers were the defending champions, and they successfully defended their title by beating the Northern Kentucky Norse 1–0 in the final. This was the sixteenth overall title for Milwaukee and second for head coach Kevin Boyd. This was also Milwaukee's sixth consecutive title. As tournament champions, Milwaukee earned the Horizon League's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament.[2]
| 2023 Horizon League women's soccer tournament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Division I | ||||
| Teams | 6 | ||||
| Matches | 5 | ||||
| Attendance | 1,311 | ||||
| Site | Engelmann Field Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Semifinals & Final) | ||||
| Champions | Milwaukee (16th title) | ||||
| Winning coach | Kevin Boyd (2nd title) | ||||
| MVP | Brooke Parnello (Milwaukee) | ||||
| Broadcast | ESPN+ | ||||
| |||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milwaukee †‡y | 7 | – | 0 | – | 3 | .850 | 12 | – | 3 | – | 5 | .725 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IUPUI | 5 | – | 1 | – | 4 | .700 | 11 | – | 3 | – | 5 | .711 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Kentucky | 4 | – | 2 | – | 4 | .600 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 8 | .632 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | .550 | 12 | – | 5 | – | 3 | .675 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wright State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 3 | .550 | 6 | – | 7 | – | 5 | .472 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Detroit Mercy | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | .500 | 7 | – | 9 | – | 3 | .447 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oakland | 3 | – | 2 | – | 5 | .550 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 7 | .472 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 2 | .400 | 7 | – | 7 | – | 3 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 2 | – | 4 | – | 4 | .400 | 5 | – | 7 | – | 6 | .444 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 3 | .250 | 4 | – | 10 | – | 3 | .324 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Green Bay | 0 | – | 7 | – | 3 | .150 | 0 | – | 11 | – | 5 | .156 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 Horizon League Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of December 5, 2023 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll Source: Horizon League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeding
editSix Horizon League schools participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded by conference record. Northern Kentucky won the third-seed tiebreaker by winning the season head-to-head against Robert Morris, while Wright State did the same over Detroit Mercy to take the fifth seed.[3]
| Seed | School | Conference Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milwaukee | 7–0–3 | 24 |
| 2 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 5–1–4 | 19 |
| 3 | Oakland | 4–2–4 | 16 |
| 4 | Wright State | 5–4–1 | 16 |
| 5 | Youngstown State | 4–3–3 | 15 |
| 6 | IUPUI | 5–5–0 | 15 |
Bracket
editSemifinal matchups were determined by the results of the quarterfinals. The #1 seed would play the lowest-remaining seed, while the #2 seed would play the other quarterfinal winner.[4]
| Quarterfinals Sunday, Oct. 29 | Semifinals Thursday, Nov. 2 | Final Saturday, Nov. 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Milwaukee | 5 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Robert Morris | 4 | 4 | Robert Morris | 0 | |||||||||
| 5 | Wright State | 1 | 1 | Milwaukee | 1 | |||||||||
| 3 | Northern Kentucky | 0 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | IUPUI | 1 (3) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Northern Kentucky | 1 | 3 | Northern Kentucky (pen.) | 1 (4) | |||||||||
| 6 | Detroit Mercy | 0 | ||||||||||||
Schedule
editQuarterfinals
edit| October 29 | #3 Northern Kentucky | 1–0 | #6 Detroit Mercy | Highland Heights, KY |
| 1:00 p.m. ET |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: NKU Soccer Stadium Attendance: 432 Referee: Heber Estrade Assistant referees: Sean West Brian Alvarez Fourth official: Dean Morgan |
| October 29 | #4 Robert Morris | 4–1 | #5 Wright State | Moon Township, PA |
| 1:00 p.m. ET |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: North Athletic Complex Attendance: 324 Referee: Sorin Stoica Assistant referees: Jeffrey Mellen Saki Atsas Fourth official: John Safar |
Semifinals
edit| November 2 | #1 Milwaukee | 5–0 | #4 Robert Morris | Milwaukee, WI |
| 1:00 p.m. CT |
|
Report | Stadium: Engelmann Field Attendance: 382 Referee: Art Arustanyan Assistant referees: Besnik Rexhepi Joseluis Garcia Fourth official: Alex Hofstetter |
| November 2 | #2 IUPUI | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3-4 p) | #3 Northern Kentucky | Milwaukee, WI |
| 4:00 p.m. CT |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Engelmann Field Attendance: 414 Referee: Christopher Koloffan Assistant referees: Michael Koziera Nikola Stancevic Fourth official: Alex Hofstetter |
| Penalties | ||||
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Final
edit| November 4 | #1 Milwaukee | 1–0 | #3 Northern Kentucky | Milwaukee, WI |
| 1:00 p.m. CT |
|
Stadium: Engelmann Field Attendance: 515 Referee: Eulogio Villalpando Assistant referees: Ryan Shanklin Brian McKay Fourth official: Joseluis Garcia |
Statistics
editGoalscorers
editThere were 14 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 2.8 goals per match.
2 goals
- Molly O'Regan – Milwaukee
- Brooke Parnello – Milwaukee
1 goal
- Emma Famulak – Milwaukee
- Haleigh Finale – Robert Morris
- Shauna Gamble – Robert Morris
- Kaoru Hayashi – Robert Morris
- Kaylin Helinski – Wright State
- Sarah Henson – Northern Kentucky
- Megan Malek – Detroit Mercy
- Megan Molner – Northern Kentucky
- Natalie Newman – IUPUI
- Kayla Rollins – Milwaukee
- Paloma Swank – Robert Morris
All-Tournament team
editSource:[2]
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Brooke Parnello | Milwaukee |
| Clara Broecker | |
| Kendall Edwards | |
| Lainey Higgins | |
| Mickayla Kowalski | Northern Kentucky |
| Lydia Self | |
| Kaya Vogt | |
| Sarah Henson | IUPUI |
| Sam Slimak | |
| Kaoru Hayashi | Robert Morris |
| Kristi Kania |
MVP in bold
References
edit- ^ Zills, Chris (October 26, 2023). "Milwaukee WSOC Set To Host Horizon League Tournament". Milwaukee Panthers. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ a b White, Rachel (November 4, 2023). "Milwaukee Crowned 2023 #HLWSOC Champions". Horizon League. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ White, Rachel (October 25, 2023). "Milwaukee Earns No. 1 Seed as 2023 #HLWSOC Championship Bracket Revealed". Horizon League. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship Bracket" (PDF). Horizon League. Retrieved November 4, 2023.