Storm send seniors off in style

INDIANOLA, Iowa - In possibly their last game at Buxton Stadium, Simpson's seniors went out with a bang.

Lacey Davis registered her first-career hat trick, 5 of 6 seniors contributed a goal or an assist and Simpson closed the regular season with a 6-0 win over College of St. Mary (Neb.) on Wednesday evening at Buxton Stadium.

The Storm (12-5-2) set a season-high with six goals, the most since October 2008. Simpson spent most of the game in the attacking third of the field, out-shooting the Flames (3-13-1) 24-10 in the first meeting between the two programs.

Davis got the scoring started for Simpson in the ninth minute on an assist from fellow senior Nicole Dillenburg. Nicole Pirie added goals in the 21st and 23rd minutes, taking assists from senior Katherine Bird on each. Senior Andrea Duncan found Davis in the 25th minute for her second goal, giving the Storm a 4-0 halftime lead.

Dillenburg got into the scoring column less than six minutes into the second period when she found the back of the net from 12 yards out on an assist from senior Corie Peterson. Davis closed the scoring less than a minute later, beating the goalkeeper from the left wing to complete her hat trick.

Megan Petersen made four saves and Jess Toyne made three in goal, as the two combined for the shutout. Jackie Swanger made 10 saves for St. Mary.

In all, 22 players saw action for the Storm.

With the regular season complete, all Simpson can do is wait to see where it will end up in the Iowa Conference Tournament seeding. With 15 points, Simpson currently sits alone in third. However, Dubuque (12) and Luther (12) each have one game left. The possibility of a three-way tie exists, which would result in seeding based on goal-differential.

If Simpson finishes with a third or fourth seed, it will host a tournament game on Saturday - a fifth seed means a road game.

The conference schedule will be complete Wednesday evening.