Women’s Soccer hosts Youngstown State in Horizon League Championship quarterfinals

Sunday, October 30

Dayton, OH

1 PM

Wright State University

No. 5 Youngstown State University

Photo by: Joseph Craven

Women’s Soccer hosts Youngstown State in Horizon League Championship quarterfinals

10/29/2022 7:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

DAYTON — The No. 4 seed Wright State women's soccer program will host No. 5 seed Youngstown State in the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals on Sunday, October 30, at Alumni Field. The postseason contest will commence at 1 p.m. and stream on ESPN+.

The winner between the two schools will face a semifinal matchup against tournament host Milwaukee or No. 2 seed Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, November 3, in Milwaukee, Wisc.

MATCH INFORMATION
Sunday, October 30 - 1 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats - Championship Central

THE FIELD IS SET
The six-team tournament bracket was set for the Horizon League Championship following the conclusion of the regular season on Wednesday. Defending conference champion Milwaukee earned the No. 1 seed and hosting right for the last two rounds of the tournament, while Purdue Fort Wayne received the No. 2 seed and an automatic bye to the semifinals. Oakland and WSU finished third and fourth overall in the conference standings, leading to a home quarterfinals matchup. Youngstown State and IUPUI rounded out the bracket in the fifth and sixth spots.

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders concluded their regular season with a 2-1 comeback victory at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday. NKU scored 30 seconds into the conference finale, but WSU's Kaylin Helinski answered back with an equalizer in the 30th minute. Alainna Hoehnke broke the tie in the 56th minute with her first goal of the season, resulting in a 2-1 lead for the Raiders. Goalkeeper Jessika Seward preserved Wright State's advantage with three saves in the second half, including two in the final 10 minutes of action.

ALL-LEAGUE RAIDERS
Five Raiders received Horizon League honors at the conclusion of the regular season, highlighted by Marcella Sizer becoming the second individual in program history to earn League Offensive Player of the Year. Olga Massombo joined Sizer on the All-League First Team, while Lauren Borchert tabbed All-League Second Team honors. Elise Canter and Kaylee Pham garnered All-Freshman Team accolades.

SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State finished the regular season 7-7-3 overall and 5-3-2 against conference opponents. The Penguins opened HL play 0-2-1 but followed with five wins in their last seven conference games, including wins over IUPUI and Robert Morris to close the season.

Elis Klein Spindola has led the YSU attack with a team-leading 11 points and five goals. Haley Curtis had added four assists over 16 starts. Goalkeeper Brooklyn Kirkpatrick posted seven shutouts over 14 starts in the regular season.

HISTORY VS. YSU
WSU holds a substantial advantage in the all-time series, leading 22-1-3. The Raiders have not lost to the Penguins since 2012, which featured a six-game win streak from 2015 to 2021. Wright State earned a 2-0 win at YSU earlier this season, as Josie Krupp and Marcella Sizer netted second-half goals.

A season ago, the Raiders used a late second-half goal by Krupp to tie the matchup against YSU at 1-1, which would prove to be a final score after two overtimes. Krupp also netted the game-winning goal in WSU's 2-1 victory against the Penguins in the spring of 2021. Kaylin Helinski helped the Raiders to a 2-1 win versus YSU during the 2019 campaign by netting the second goal of her collegiate career.

OFFENSE IN RHYTHM
On the year, WSU holds top-three conference marks in scoring offense (2nd, 1.65), shot accuracy (2nd, .514), points per game (2nd, 4.72), total goals (2nd, 28), assists per game (3rd, 1.41), shots on goal per game (3rd, 6.59), corner kicks per game (3rd, 4.88), and total points (3rd, 80).

HISTORY MADE
Wright State broke a single-season school record by netting at least one goal in 12 consecutive games. The Raiders averaged 1.86 goals per game in the span, which included seven multi-goal performances. Marcella Sizer paced the WSU attack individually with 14 points on six goals and two assists during the streak.

PRECISION AT ITS FINEST
As a team, the Raiders rank 39th in the country and second in the Horizon League in shot accuracy (.514). Lauren Borchert has compiled a team-leading 27 shots on frame, while Marcella Sizer is 14-for-25 (.560) in shot-on-goal attempts.

MEETING EXPECTATIONS
Olivia Mace has tallied a team-leading six assists over 17 matches, good for second in the conference. The Centerville, Ohio native entered the 2022 season with lofty expectations after earning Horizon League All-Freshman Team honors last year. Mace has logged a program-leading 2,900 minutes over 35 games (31 starts) dating back to the 2021 campaign.

SHOWING OFF DEPTH
Eleven Raiders have appeared in all 17 games, including four newcomers. Kaylee Pham, a freshman out of nearby Springboro, has logged a team-best 1,511 minutes over 17 starts. Four individuals in Pham, Olga Massombo, Jessika Seward, and Lauren Borchert, have started every game.

CAREER LEADERS (at Wright State only)
Goals
Josie Krupp - 11
Lauren Borchert - 7
Marcella Sizer, Kaylin Helinski, Michelle Rings, & Olga Massombo - 6

Assists
Josie Krupp & Olga Massombo - 8
Michelle Rings & Olga Massombo - 7
Olivia Mace - 6

Points
Josie Krupp - 30
Olga Massombo - 20
Michelle Rings - 19

Saves
Jessika Seward - 168
Erin Baker - 27
Kiera Sarka - 6

Games
Josie Krupp - 79
Michelle Rings - 61
Kaylin Helinski - 57

Starts
Olga Massombo - 42
Kaylin Helinski - 41
Michelle Rings - 39

RETURNING TALENT
Wright State returns 10 players who logged nine or more starts and 700-plus minutes, including a pair of All-Horizon League performers in Olga Massombo and Olivia Mace. The trio of Madison Keller, Taylor Lauck, and Josie Krupp are in the midst of their fifth year with the Raiders.

Massombo, Krupp, Maddie Mitchell, and Michelle Rings found the back of the net multiple times a season ago, while Lauren Borchert tied for second on the team with two assists. Mace was the lone Raiders to appear and start in all 18 matches, totaling a team-leading 1,578 minutes. Jessika Seward is in her third season as WSU's goalkeeper, where she has tallied 168 saves and four shutouts in 38 career starts.

MEET THE COACHES
The Raiders are led by second-year head coach Travis Sobers, a longtime assistant coach at WSU before taking reigns on the sidelines last summer. The former Wright State men's soccer standout player helped the Raiders to victories over Marshall, Akron, IUPUI, Cleveland State, and UIC in 2021. Assistant coach Abbey Frail joined the Raiders in January 2022 after two seasons on the staff at her alma mater Wingate University. Last fall, as interim head coach, she guided the Bulldogs to an 11-6 overall record.

WELCOME TO THE FAM
WSU welcomes 10 first-year students and two transfers to this season's squad. Marcella Sizer joined the Raiders after three seasons at fellow Horizon League school Youngstown State, where she totaled 23 points on 10 goals — two game-winners — and three assists over three seasons.

OHIO STRONG
Wright State's 2022 roster features 20 players from Ohio. Three Raiders in Elise Canter, Ashley Vaughn, and Heidi Orloff came to WSU from nearby Beavercreek High School. Another three individuals in Annika Samborski, Brandi Greenlee, and Olivia Mace prepped at Centerville High School.

PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked sixth in the annual Horizon League preseason poll, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Oakland topped the conference poll while defending HL tournament champion Milwaukee was close behind in the second.