WHEATON- The Capital University women’s soccer team hadn’t lost in over a month heading into Saturday, and it would take a championship-caliber team like Wheaton to end the Crusaders dream season in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night. 
Playing in front of their home crowd, the Thunder (20-1-2) posted a 3-0 win over a Capital team that was playing in their first-ever second round NCAA tournament match. Wheaton took a 1-0 lead in the 40th minute and added an insurance goal in the 53rd minute of the match.
After a shot by Capital’s Hilary Ells (Grandview Heights, Ohio) was blocked by the Thunder defense in the 85th minute, Wheaton put the match out of reach with goal from a shot 14-yards out in the 87th minute.
"I am so very proud of this team and the tremendous effort they showed
this season," Coach Chris Kouns said. "They have done something very special this year and have
cemented their place in the history of this program. It is something
they should be so proud of and something that is well deserved. This evening we ran into a tremendous program in Wheaton. They are a
Final Four caliber team and are well deserving of their #6 national
ranking. At that though we had a great game plan and gave ourselves
several opportunities to have success in the game. We had two set
pieces which ended up with open net opportunities but to their credit
they cleared the balls off the line. Against a team like Wheaton you
have to finish those chances and this evening the ball simply did not
fall our way. "
Ells led the offensive charge for Capital by netting three shots and two shots on goal. Sophomore keeper Maggie Donnellan (Cincinnati, Ohio) faced 28 shots (13 shots on goal) while recording 10 saves for the Crusaders.
"In particular this evening Maggie Donnellan had an outstanding game.
She was every bit the Goal Keeper of the Year in her performance and
drew high praise from the Wheaton coach. In addition to Maggie Delaney
Thompson also had a game to remember. She was everywhere in the
midfield and was a driving force in our play," Kouns said. "There were numerous
other individuals who deserve recognition for their efforts tonight,
but, we can sum it up by saying it was a total team effort. We had a
great number of players playing like warriors through injuries this
tournament run and I cannot say enough for their willingness to put
aside pain to help their team win."
Capital (13-8-2), the OAC Tournament champion, saw its10 match unbeaten streak halted along with their 13-match streak of allowing less than three goals to the opposition.
Ells finished the season tied with seniors Kaylee Phillips (Pataskala, Ohio) and Tara Zimmer (Vandalia, Ohio) with the team lead in with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists. Phillips tallied seven goals and eight assists that included her game winning assist to classmate Natalie Fiorelli (Pickerington, Ohio) the previous night against Alma. Zimmer tallied a team-high 14 assists while scoring the game-winning goal in the OAC semi-final against rival Otterbein. Fiorelli made impact plays all season, finishing with 20 points on nine goals and two assists.
Donnellan anchored a stingy Crusader defense that shut out nine opponents. Seniors Kellie Gustin (Springboro, Ohio), Samantha Shaffer (Dayton, Ohio), Jamie Meiser (Avon, Ohio), sophomore Lauren Roy (Toledo, Ohio), and sophomore Michelle Geiger (Norwood, Ohio) each played essential roles in Capital’s defensive success this season.
Capital strung together the best run against OAC opponents in program history, posting a 10-1-1 record against league foes this season that included a 4-2 win over John Carroll in the OAC tournament championship. The win in the championship game culminated Capital’s unbeaten 7-0-2 record this season at Bernlohr Stadium.
Capital’s seven seniors also leave having won at least 11 matches in each of their four seasons, while finishing up their careers as OAC tournament champions.
"I am so very proud to have coached this team this year. I especially
want to thank the senior class. For them to deal with three coaching
changes and buy into the direction we were going it took a lot of
dedication on their parts. They led us all season and were a huge part
of getting us to the second round of the NCAA Tournament," Kouns said. "They are
leaving Capital with a legacy that puts them first in a distinguished
group of alumni. As the first team to get a NCAA Tournament win and a
place in the Round of 32 they will have memories that should last a
lifetime."