Nash scores twice, Simpson advances in national tournament

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Cassie Nash found the back of the net in the 25th and 52nd minutes to lift the Simpson College women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over St. Catherine in the opening round of the NCAA DIII Championship.

The Storm (16-2-2) advance to the Round of 32 and will take on No. 11 Wis.-La Crosse (18-1-1) on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Eagles defeated their first round opponent, Wis.-Superior, by a 1-0 score earlier today.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A little over halfway into the first period, Nash took advantage of a mistouch by the Wildcats (16-4-1) and put Simpson ahead by one with a goal scored from the far corner of the penalty box.
• The Storm carried that lead into the break as Lani Mears made one save in the half.
• After two shots by Julia Wagoner were saved by Kate Praetz, Nash scored from the same distance as her first goal on a beautiful through ball from Brissa Valadez.
• The Wildcats cut the lead in half with a goal in the 63rd minute. Haley Grass sent a long ball up towards the goal that was headed by Kallan Tuominen before being taped in by Brianna Henaman.
• Nash nearly got the goal back and her third hat trick of the year with a strong shot in the 66th minute, but Praetz made a one-handed save to keep the margin at one.
• The Storm defense allowed just one shot in the final 27 minutes of play, securing the win for Simpson.

NOTES

• Simpson improves to 2-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Storm are now 15-0-1 when scoring first as well as 15-0-0 when converting multiple goals.
• Cassie Nash has scored all five of Simpson's postseason goals and now has 20 on the year. This was her eighth multi-goal performance of the year and 20th of her career.
• The Storm win their first match against St. Catherine since 2010, ending a five-game losing streak.
• Simpson's 16 wins are tied for the second most in program history. The Storm tallied 16 wins in 2001 and 20 in 1999, the last time the team made an NCAA postseason appearance.
• Simpson extends its unbeaten streak to six games.

UP NEXT
Simpson looks to keep it rolling on Sunday afternoon against No. 11 Wis.-La Crosse in the Round of 32. First kick is set for 3 p.m. at Veteran Memorial Field Sports Complex.