Going into the weekend, the women needed to pick up victories on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1 against Beloit and Lake Forest, respectively in order to clinch a playoff spot. They could have gotten in with some help from other teams, but the women were in control of their own destiny.

     "The girls were feeling good coming in after two straight wins against Cornell and then the big win against Knox," said Head Coach Barry McNamara.

     On Halloween, Beloit College came to Monmouth in hopes of "spooking" the Scots out of the playoff picture while trying to capture their own spot in the conference tournament.

     The two teams were evenly matched in the first half, as only two shots separated the two teams, Monmouth with the advantage 8-6. The Scots took advantage of a break away by sophomore Molly Ball in the 16th minute to put the Scots in the lead for good.

     The biggest "treat" for the Scots against Beloit was the play by goalkeeper Katerina Meletis.

     "Katerina gave the best game as a goalie that I have seen in the seven years of being here," said McNamara.

     Meletis recorded nine total saves in the contest, which is the most by any starting goalkeeper for women’s soccer since 2004. She recorded 10 saves in a game against Carroll earlier in the season after taking over for starting goalkeeper Sarah Wintersteen

     A well defended second half for the Buccaneers held the Scots to only one shot, but Katie Fluegel made it count, as sophomore Amy Unzicker assisted the Fluegel goal.

     The Scots took the first of the weekend 2-0 with the playoffs just a win away. Senior captain Lauren Vana had a hopeful outlook on a possible playoff berth.

     "This would be the second time that we would make the playoffs during my run here and since then we had never been this close," explained Vana.

     Sunday was the final test for the women as they took on Lake Forest. The Foresters and Scots played about even in all categories except for one: goals. An Emily Weber goal off a corner kick from Bianca Greene, one of two in the contest gave the Foresters all the needed, putting them up 1-0 en route to a 3-0 victory over the Scots, keeping Monmouth out of the running for a Midwest Conference tournament berth.

     Early in the contest, Meletis suffered a game-ending injury and was replaced by junior midfielder Natalie Rotz, who had never played goalkeeper.

     Senior midfielder Holly White was a large asset to the women’s soccer team this year, although the statistics do not reflect the type of performance she has done this year. "That girl is all over the place on the field," added Vana.

     Meletis was added to the list of numerous injuries suffered by the women’s soccer team this season.

     "I have never been on a team with 17 years of soccer that has had so many injuries, but that’s what made the team strong and showed all the support we gave to each other," commented senior defender Emily Caron. The sophomore goalkeeper was originally the backup goalkeeper and had taken over the starting role after a season-ending injury to Wintersteen.

     Overall, the women’s season was their best since 2006, as they finish this season with a 4-4-1 conference record, tied for fifth place with Grinnell.

     "Up until the final day of the season, the ladies played their heart out and I am proud of them for the great fight put up this season" added McNamara.

     Sunday’s game also served as the final game for the women’s soccer seniors. Jessie Fetherling, Claudia Gomez, Lisa Fetherling, Whitney Ott, along with Vana, Caron and White.

     "It was nice that we had a chance as a team to do well this season and to get so close to the tournament was great," said White.

      Along with team success, looking ahead to next season, the senior captains know there is potential for leaders to emerge among the group to fill their spikes next season.