DENVER, Colo. – The field is set for the 2021 Summit League Women’s Soccer Championship and four familiar teams have punched their tickets to The Centennial State. Denver, South Dakota State, Omaha and South Dakota each advanced to Omaha this past spring for what was the 2020 Championship and made their way back following more success this fall. 

In fact, the semifinal matchups are identical to the ones played in April as top-seeded Denver takes on No. 4 seed South Dakota and No. 2 seed South Dakota State takes on No. 3 seed Omaha. The quest for the 2021 championship trophy begins Thursday, Nov. 4 at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium in Denver, Colo. The first semifinal match of the championship gets underway at 1 p.m. MT.
 
Matchups
Semifinals | Thursday, Nov. 4
(1) Denver vs. (4) South Dakota | 1 p.m. MT
(2) South Dakota State vs. (3) Omaha | 4 p.m. MT

Final | Saturday, Nov. 6
Semifinal winners | 2 p.m. MT

Live Streaming
All three Summit League Championship matches from Denver will be streamed free of charge on The Summit League's official website: thesummitleague.org/watch.
 
Chris Bianchi will provide the play-by-play for all three matches.
 
Last Week In The Summit League
Friday, October 29
Western Illinois 4, North Dakota State 1
St. Thomas 1, North Dakota 0
South Dakota State 2, Omaha 1
South Dakota 1, Denver 1 (2OT)
 
Sunday, October 31
North Dakota State 1, St. Thomas 0 (2OT)
Western Illinois 4, North Dakota 2
Omaha 1, South Dakota 0
Oral Roberts 2, Kansas City 1
Denver 2, South Dakota State 0
 
Around The League
• One spot for the 2021 Summit League Championships was up for grabs on Sunday as Omaha, Western Illinois and Kansas City were the three teams vying for the final spot heading into the last day of action.
• Omaha recorded a 1-0 win over South Dakota (No. 4 seed) to secure the final spot in the tournament, earning the No. 3 seed, while Denver’s 2-0 home triumph over South Dakota State earned them the outright regular-season title.
• The Pioneers started the week five points ahead of the Jackrabbits (No. 2 seed) at 21 points and with the DU/USD match resulting in a 1-1 draw. Sunday’s match between DU/SDSU decided who would win the regular-season crown.
• This is the second-straight season that all four teams are not only in the #SummitWSOC tournament, but all four have the same seeds from last season.
• It is the third-straight year and the fourth time overall that the Pioneers earned the top seed and they finished six points clear of SDSU at the top of the Summit League table.
• The Coyotes clinched a spot in the League tournament for the second-straight season on Friday with a 1-1 double overtime draw against the Pioneers.
• With the tie, USD snapped a seven-game losing streak to Denver.
• Denver remains the lone #SummitWSOC team without a loss, as the Pioneers finished the League campaign with an 8-0-1 ledger.
• South Dakota State tied a program record for the most wins in a season with 15. Junior forward Maya Hansen is second in the League with 13 goals, and she recorded her 30^th point of the season in Friday’s win against the Mavericks, becoming the third Jackrabbit in program history, and first since 2001, to record 30 points in a season.
• Omaha closed out its season with a 1-0 shutout against the Coyotes on Sunday, with sophomore forward Sophia Green connecting on the game-winner in the 63^rd-minute.
• With the win, the Mavericks finished the regular season with a 6-3 record in league play and their nine overall wins mark the most victories in a season in its Division I era.
• Denver junior forward Sydney Sharp leads the league in goals scored in League play with eight and had a seven-match streak of at least one goal scored in League action. In league play, Sharp is also the leader in game-winning goals (6) and points (19) and is tied for seventh in the nation in total goals with 14.
• Protecting the net for Denver is Nerea Arrzola, who has a league-best .224 goals against average in League competition and has recorded a league-high five shutouts in league competition. Additionally, Omaha goalkeeper Rachel Thigpen has allowed just three goals in seven League games.
• SDSU goalkeeper Jocelyn Tanner is tied with Denver’s Arrazola with eight total shutouts, with the former logging an .850 save percentage.
• Denver’s Natalie Beckman, who was recently named the TicketSmarter Summit League Offensive Player of the Week, leads #SummitWSOC with 10 League assists and is second in the nation with 15 total assists.
• USD’s Alexis Mitchell and Jordan Centineo are tied for the team lead with six goals, while Maddison Sullivan leads the South Dakota with six assists. Additionally, Taylor Ravelo’s 1,586 minutes is the most by a Coyote.
 
Noting The Qualifiers
(1) Denver Pioneers
• Denver led all Summit League teams with 27 goals in league play, while also allowing a league-low of three.
• Senior Natalie Beckman sparked the Pioneers with 15 assists, which is the second most in Division I soccer and she recently became the program and Summit League all-time record holder in assists with 44 so far in her career.
• Junior forward Sydney Sharp has had quite the season, leading the league in goals (14), game-winning goals (7) and points (33).
• The Pioneers have gone nine-straight matches without suffering a loss and finished six points clear of South Dakota State at the top of the Summit League table. That is the highest separation between two teams to end the regular season since 2017 when SDSU reversed those roles and were six points ahead of DU.

(2) South Dakota State Jackrabbits
• South Dakota State has outscored its opponents 46-13 on the year and those 13 goals were the fewest allowed by a Summit League team entering the tournament. 
• Sophomore goalkeeper Jocelyn Tanner was a big reason for that as she owns a league-high tying eight shutouts on the campaign and has made 55 saves in 15 matches. Her .833 save percentage ranks second among league goalies.
• Junior Maya Hansen is second among Summit League goal scorers, finding the net 13 times with five game-winners and sits second in the league with 30 points.
• The Jacks have made nine consecutive appearances in the tournament and won four of the last seven tournament titles with their last coming in 2019.

(3) Omaha Mavericks
• This will be the second meeting in as many weeks for Omaha and South Dakota State and also marks a rematch of a semifinal match from the 2020 Championship where the Mavericks advanced on penalty kicks. The Jackrabbits defeated the Mavericks in Omaha last Friday, 2-1.
• Omaha senior goalkeeper Rachel Thigpen  has led the Mavericks to four shutouts and five wins in their last six matched entering the postseason.
• Sophomore forward Sophia Green leads the way for the Mavericks with six goals, including four game-winning tallies, while freshman midfielder Cece Behrens is second on the team with three goals.

(4) South Dakota Coyotes
• South Dakota recorded 10 wins this season, setting a program record for single-season victories during their Division I era.
• USD senior goalkeeper Emma Harkleroad started 15 matches for the Coyotes, collecting nine wins, seven shutouts and the fifth-most saves in league play with 36. She also boasts a league-best save percentage of .855.
• Senior forward Jordan Centineo leads the team with 14 points and has three game-winning goals.
• Centineo shares the team lead in goals with six as she was matched in that category by Alexis Mitchell. Both of those players rattled off four goals in league play and put away a pair of game-winners as well. 
 
#SummitWSOC