Avila Blanks Bethel to Secure Playoff Berth

NORTH NEWTON, Kan. – Avila women's soccer needed a win in its rescheduled final game of the regular season to assure itself of a spot in the KCAC Tournament later this week, and thanks to a goal in each half and a standout defensive performance, that's exactly what the Eagles (6-11-1, 6-6-1 KCAC) got: a 2-0 victory over Bethel (6-11-1, 2-10-1 KCAC) on Monday evening in North Newton.

The game was originally supposed to be played Saturday night but had to be punted to Monday due to persistent bad weather throughout the day across the state of Kansas on Saturday. And so, 48 hours later, the Eagles made the trip west to Newton to try to play their final game of the regular season again. That only upped the drama surrounding the final match day of the season which had a lot of importance not just for the Eagles but for a few other teams which had to watch the final games go final to learn their postseason fates in 2023.

Mathematically, it was not a must-win game for the Eagles – they could still have made the top eight even with a loss or draw if certain other results went their way – but a win would have got them into that exclusive group automatically, and that's exactly what the team delivered: unable to clinch a postseason berth with a positive result in either of their previous two tries, the Eagles made good on their third try, defeating a Thresher squad that will not be in the postseason 2-0 to lock up that spot in the top eight. The Eagles have now made the KCAC Tournament in every year under Katie LaForge except one, and Monday's win gave them six on the season, more than they tallied in either of the last two – both in league play and overall.

It was a bit of a tense game given the circumstances and Avila didn't blow out Bethel by any means, but it was a truly comprehensive performance from the Eagles when it mattered most. It took a while for the game to open up, but once it did the Eagles were the first group to benefit when Amaris Sigler sent in a corner that Maria Perez finally got on the end of around heavy traffic in the box, scoring her first goal of the season to put Avila up 1-0 halfway through the first half.

Olivia Seston made a save off top Thresher forward Claire Hedlund to maintain that lead, and then Mariah Vallejo countered with a pair in short succession off Nikkole Wood and Samantha Mendez to keep the deficit at one heading into halftime. Both teams continued to push in the second half, and Avila had the majority of the chances but could not break through until the final five minutes when Megan Nugent got to an excellent through pass from Annika Holtorf and slotted a shot just inside the far post past Vallejo to make the score 2-0.

And that was all the edge the Eagles needed. Avila once again played without a number of regulars from the majority of the season, and many other players stepped up to deliver the crucial result. Freshmen Hope Hines, Korynn Peregrine and Alessandra Calderon all played significant roles alongside the senior Sigler on the defensive end, and Seston made three saves en route to her fifth clean sheet of the season, all in league play.

All of that added up to a 2-0 victory for the Eagles, who will officially learn their postseason fate when the KCAC unveils its brackets for the 2023 KCAC Women's Soccer Tournament later this week. There's really no secret on Avila's side: the Eagles mathematically earned the No. 8 and final seed in the field, which means a trip to face regular season champions Oklahoma Wesleyan in the tournament quarterfinal round on Saturday, November 4. More details will be revealed when they are announced; you can watch the entire KCAC Tournament wherever you are on the KCAC Network.