Storm earn first postseason spot since 2013

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The wait to reach the American Rivers Conference Tournament is finally over for the Simpson women's soccer team as the squad secured the fourth seed after a 1-0 win over Nebraska Wesleyan Tuesday night and will host in the opening round.

The victory pushed the Storm (10-3-5, 4-2-2 A-R-C) into a tie for third place in the conference and allowed the team to play in the league tournament for the first time since 2013.

Both teams came out of the gate firing as the Prairie Wolves (12-6-0, 3-5-0 A-R-C) notched a shot within the first 50 seconds of the game only to be saved by a diving Rachel Neumann to prevent the early deficit.

The Storm waited until the seventh minute to take aim at the goal as the team finished with six shots in the opening 45 minutes of play.

As both teams went into halftime scoreless, Baileigh Nagy clinched the postseason berth with a game-winner in the 49th minute just out of the intermission. Kaitlyn Bravek set the play up with a through ball that found itself to Nagy, who only had the goalie to beat and place the ball midway up the net. Nagy tallied her first goal of the year and Bravek had her third assist.

For the rest of the match, Simpson's defense held firm to collect its 11 shutout of the season as Nebraska Wesleyan had 17 shots for the contest, while the Storm only had 12.

Neumann ended with six saves for her seventh shutout of the season.

Notes
• The team's 10 wins are the most in a season since 2011, when Simpson had 13.
• Simpson has an eight win improvement from last year.

Up Next
The Storm will host Luther at 5 p.m. on Saturday for the start of the American Rivers Conference Tournament. Simpson and the Norse last faced off on Oct. 12 with the Storm taking a 2-0 win inside Buxton Stadium.