MIAC Official Soccer Playoff Page

ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University soccer team is accustom to making history. On Saturday, the Wildcats will make even more as they host Gustavus Adolphus College in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championship at 1 p.m. in St. Paul, Minnesota.

As the highest remaining seed in the tournament, St. Kate's has the honor of hosting the MIAC Championship for the first time in program history on Saturday, November 4. The game is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. at St. Kate's Field in St. Paul, Minnesota and fans will need to purchase tickets in order to watch the game in person. Tickets are $7 for adults and $3 for children. St. Kate's students and faculty/staff can get in the game for free if they present valid and proper ID at the gate.

Live stats will be available for fans who cannot attend in person. Video will not be available, but score updates will be made on St. Kate's official Twitter page (@stkateswildcats). 

Both St. Kate's and Gustavus haven't had the easiest routes to the championship game. As the No. 6 seed, the Gusties had to beat the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the tournament to advance to the final game. Gustavus did just that, beating No. 3 St. Olaf in the quarterfinal round by a final score of 2-0 before beating the Tommies on penalty kicks Wednesday afternoon.

The Wildcats also had to play in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds prior to Saturday's final. As the No. 5 seed in the tournament, St. Kate's won a shootout over No. 4 Saint Ben's on Tuesday to advance to Wednesday evening's semifinal against the top-seeded Augsburg University Auggies. The Wildcats then pulled off one of the biggest wins of the season, as they beat the top-ranked Auggies 1-0 thanks to a goal by Allie Bird (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) in the 11^th minute of the game.

The winner of the game between the Wildcats and Gusties will earn the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament set to begin on November 10.

Here are the five facts to know before Saturday's championship:

1^st – This isn't just the first time the soccer team has hosted the MIAC Championship in program history. It's also the first time any team at St. Kate's has hosted a MIAC Championship game. According to available records, the Wildcat soccer team will be the first team in school history to host a conference championship final on its own home field, despite being the five seed in the MIAC Women's Soccer Tournament this season.

2^nd – St. Kate's soccer is the second Wildcat team to advance to a conference championship game in the 2016-17 calendar year. St. Kate's softball team advanced to the MIAC Playoff Championship in the spring after beating Hamline and St. Thomas in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the tournament. The Wildcats defeated Hamline in the championship game, earning the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that season.

1-1 – This won't be the first time the Wildcats and Gusties meet in the playoffs. In fact, the two teams met in the quarterfinal round last season in what proved to be a thrilling opener to the MIAC tournament. After not being able to score in the opening 45 minutes of play, St. Kate's and Gustavus scored within two minutes of each other, resulting in a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. When two overtimes couldn't decide the victory, the Wildcats and Gusties needed penalty kicks to determine who would advance to take on St. Thomas in the semis. Thanks to outstanding play by Jessica Perez-Adame (San Jacinto, Calif. / San Jacinto), St. Kate's advanced due to a 4-1 shootout win.

3 – Bird's goal against the Auggies Wednesday night was the sophomore's third goal scored against MIAC opponents this season. In fact, eight of Bird's nine points scored this season have occurred against MIAC opponents, as she tallied just one assist outside of conference play.

1^st – Thanks to Bird's first half goal on Wednesday, the Wildcats recorded their first official win the conference tournament in program history. Although St. Kate's advanced to the semifinals each of the last two seasons, the team didn't have an official "W" in its record as it advanced due to a shootout win rather than a win in regulation and/or overtime. The 1-0 win over Augsburg is, therefore, the team's first official MIAC playoff win.