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No. 2 #24 TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (14-2-2) vs. No. 1 #13 OLIVET NAZARENE TIGERS (15-3-1)
Saturday, November 15 | 3:00 p.m.
Snowbarger Athletic Park | Bourbonnais, Ill. | CCAC Tournament Final
Quick Notes
• For the second year in a row, the No. 24 Trinity International Trojans will play for a conference title, when they take on the No. 13 Olivet Nazarene Tigers in the CCAC Tournament final. Kickoff from Snowbarger Athletic Park in Bourbonnais is set for Saturday, November 15 at 3:00 p.m.
• With their win over St. Francis last Wednesday, the Trojans clinched a spot in the 2014 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship. The national tournament berth is the second in the last two seasons for TIU.
• The Trojans clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference tourney, with a 5-1 win at Holy Cross to wrap up the regular season.
• Junior forward Samantha Yasatan is the CCAC leader in goals scored, with 29 this season, setting a new TIU single-season record in the process.
• Trinity has averaged 3.56 goals per match this season, most in the CCAC, and the 9th-highest average in the NAIA. Defensively, the Trojans have allowed 1.28 goals per match, good for 4th in the CCAC.
• Olivet Nazarene won the CCAC regular season title, and are also advancing to the NAIA Tournament. The Tigers have averaged 2.58 goals per game, good for 2nd in the conference. ONU has given up just 0.79 goals per match, the lowest total in the CCAC, and 28th-lowest in the NAIA.
Last Time Out
• Junior Morgan Elzinga scored the game-tying goal, followed by her 8th game-winning goal of the season, giving Trinity International a come-from-behind 3-2 win over St. Francis in the CCAC Tournament semifinals.
• After a 1-0 halftime lead for TIU, St. Francis answered with goals in the 54th and 57th minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Elzinga then scored twice, in the 65th and 67th, to give TIU the win. Elzinga now has the game-winning goal in four of the Trojans' last five matches, including both CCAC Tournament wins.
In the Polls
• With their current nine-match win streak, the Trojans broke into the national rankings, earning the No. 24 spot in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll. Trinity earns a national ranking for the first time since falling out of the poll in early October.
• The Trojans rank 35th in the latest Modified RPI Rankings, which determine the seeding and at-large berths for the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship. The final MRPI rankings will be announced Nov. 16.
• TIU started the season ranked No. 25 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll, and moved up to No. 22 before falling out following a draw at Trinity Christian, and loss at Olivet Nazarene in early October. The earlier ranking gives the Trojans their third straight campaign in which they were nationally ranked at some point during the season.
• The Trojans finished off last season as a nationally-ranked program, finishing the year at No. 25, after their late postseason run through the CCAC Tournament and into the NAIA Opening Round.
• The Trojans kept their spot in the NCCAA Top 10 national rankings, released on Tuesday, at No. 4. TIU earned 43 points in the poll, and are the highest-ranked program from the North Central Region.
Stat Leaders
Team Stats
• As a team, Trinity International not only leads the CCAC with an average of 3.56 goals per match, but also rank 9th nationally in the NAIA. TIU has a conference-high 64 goals on the season, good for 9th in the NAIA
• TIU also leads the league in assists per game, averaging 3.11 per match. The team ranks 5th in the NAIA, and 4th nationally with 53 total assists.
• The Trojans currently average the third-fewest fouls per match, at 7.39, just behind Calumet St. Joseph and Purdue-Calumet. TIU is also the only program in the CCAC with just two yellow cards this season.
• Defensively, the Trojans average 1.28 goals allowed per game, the fourth-lowest average in the CCAC. The team's goals-against average of 1.23 also ranks fourth in the league, but Trojan goalkeepers have been fairly quiet, averaging just 4.33 saves per match, the second-lowest average in the conference.
• Trinity picked up its fifth shutout of the season in the quarterfinal match with Cardinal Stritch, becoming just the third CCAC program with five clean sheets; Olivet Nazarene leads the league with nine shutouts this year.
Individual Stats
• Samantha Yasatan has been one of the strongest offensive players in the nation this season, and ranks 1st in the CCAC in six different statistical categories. The junior tops the conference in total shots taken (93) as well as shots taken per game (5.39), points (66) and points average (3.67), goals, (29) and goals average (1.61).
• Yasatan sits 2nd in the NAIA in goals per game, 3rd in points per game, total goals, and total points, 5th in shots on goal per game (3.29), and 7th in shots per game.
• Melissa Loretto and Morgan Elzinga have been just as dynamic in the Trojan attack; the duo rank 1st and 2nd in total assists in the CCAC, with 15 and 12, respectively. Loretto & Elzinga also sit 1st and 2nd nationally in the NCCAA. Both players are among the top six in the NAIA as well, with Loretto just one assist behind the national leader.
• Elzinga has recorded eight game-winning goals, and has picked up the game-winner in 44% of all matches this season, the highest percentage in the NAIA. Her eight game-winners lead the nation; Elzinga is also 3rd in the CCAC in total goals, scoring 15 so far this year.
• Goalkeeper Liz Burzynski has the CCAC's fourth-best goals against average, at 1.17. Her save percentage of .787 ranks 5th in the conference.
Scouting the Opponents
Olivet Nazarene
• The Tigers earned the No. 1 seed in the CCAC Tournament, after going undefeated in league play to take the regular season title. ONU has not lost or drawn a match since Sept. 12, in a 5-2 loss at Siena Heights (Mich.), good for a 14-match win streak.
• Betsy Hetrick and Liz Wahl lead the Olivet attack, with 13 goals apiece; both are tied for 5th on the CCAC's goal-scoring list.
• ONU holds an 9-1-2 record over the Trojans since 2007, including a 2-0 win over TIU earlier this season. Trinity played the Tigers to a scoreless draw in last season's CCAC Tournament Final, also played in Bourbonnais, but won the title in a shootout, 3-2.
Good Sports
• Last season, the Trinity International women's soccer team earned their third-straight CCAC Karl Boeck Conference Champions of Character Team Award. The team honor goes to the squad that displays the best sportsmanship throughout the season in the CCAC.
• Currently, Trinity is one of two programs with the longest streak without a red card in the CCAC, and along with Trinity Christian, have gone five full seasons since seeing one of their players sent off.
