Lake Forest College is playing host to the 2014 Midwest Conference Women's Soccer Tournament this weekend and the top-seeded Foresters defeated Grinnell College 7-1 in the semifinals on Friday. Forester junior Michelle Greeneway scored three goals and added three assists in the contest.
Greeneway helped set up the Foresters' first goal of the contest by tapping the ball back to sophomore Nina Perkkio on the right side of the field. Perkkio's cross found the head of back-pedalling junior Holly Lesperance near the far post and she deflected it past the goalie for the score at 2:17. It was Lesperance's 11th goal of the season.
Greeneway's first goal of the afternoon was assisted by sophomore Amy Sherman, whose pass from near midfield landed just past the Grinnell defenders, bounced, and was headed over the Pioneer goaltender before she could get to it. The score gave the home team a 2-0 lead just 5:48 into the contest.
Freshman Kayla Wuest scored the third goal of the game at 8:52. A Lesperance throw-in from the left side entered the box and, as a Pioneer defender attempted to clear the ball, it was taken away by by Wuest and kicked into the right side of the goal.
Greeneway struck again at 10:39 after working a give-and-go with Lesperance starting approximately 25 yards from the goal. Greeneway slid at the ball and kicked it in before the Grinnell goalie could get to it.
Nearly 10 minutes passed before the Foresters added another goal. Greeneway started the play by passing to Wuest on the right side of the box. Wuest sent a cross to Perkkio in front of the goal and she kicked it in for her seventh score of the season.
Greeneway completed her fourth hat trick of the year and 10th in her career at the 24:54 mark. Lesperance was credited with an assist on the play after getting knocked down, picking herself up, beating three defenders into the left side of the box and putting the ball on goal. The rebound from the goalie's save went to Greeneway in front of the net and she kicked it in for her 30th goal of the season.
Leading 6-0 at halftime, the Foresters tacked on on more score at the 59:12 mark. A corner kick from the left side by junior Sam Hillis went over the crowd in front of the goal but was headed back by Greeneway and kicked in by Wuest. It was the program record 18th assist of the year by Hillis. Greeneway's three assists in the contest are a career-high and she matched her career-best with nine points for the second straight game.
Forester sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Tenuta made three saves in the game but was denied the shutout by a penalty kick with 15:11 to play. She is now 15-0-0 on the season with a 0.76 goals against average.
Lake Forest remained perfect on the year after 19 games while Grinnell's season ended at 10-8-1.
Ripon College defeated Carroll University 1-0 in overtime in Friday's first semifinal. The Foresters will host the Red Hawks in the tournament final Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The winner of the game will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
