Women's soccer, volleyball ready for SCIAC Tournaments

ORANGE, Calif. –  The Chapman University women's soccer team heated up at the right time and the volleyball team has been hot all year. As a result, both have earned No. 2 seeds in this week's SCIAC Tournaments, which will determine the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA postseason tournaments. It is the first time ever for both teams playing in the SCIAC Tournament in Chapman's first year of eligibility in the conference.

As the No. 2 seed, women's soccer will host its first round match against No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at Wilson Field. The victor will take on the winner of No. 1 Cal Lutheran and No. 4 Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday at the site of the highest seed.

General admission tickets for the Panthers' first round home game will be $5. Students/faculty with proper ID, as well as children 12 and under are free.

Three weeks ago, Chapman (15-5 overall, 9-5 SCIAC) wasn't even in the playoff picture, but finished the regular season winning nine of its final 10 matches, including going 6-1 in the second half of conference play. The Panthers earned the standings tiebreaker over Claremont (11-7 overall, 9-5 SCIAC) thanks to its win over top-seed Cal Lutheran last week. The Panthers and Athenas split two games during the conference schedule, each winning on the other's home field.

Meanwhile, volleyball will travel to Cal Lutheran where the top-seeded Regals will host the four-team first round. No. 2 Chapman will battle No. 3 La Verne on Thursday at 5 p.m. for the chance to play the winner of No. 1 Cal Lutheran and No. 4 Occidental on Saturday. That final match will also be hosted by the highest remaining seed.

No. 23-ranked Chapman and No. 8 Cal Lutheran exchanged leads at the top of the SCIAC standings throughout the regular season with the Regals gaining the final edge in a head-to-head win at Chapman on Friday to clinch the No. 1 seed. That loss snapped the Panthers' season-high nine match winning streak and set up a date with La Verne in the first round of the SCIAC Tournament. The Panthers and Leopards split the home-and-home series this year, accounting for Chapman's only other conference loss.

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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