By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University soccer team will be back in the state of Minnesota to take on No. 3-seed St. Cloud State in a 1 p.m. NCAA Sweet Sixteen matchup on Sunday afternoon.
Lili Everley, Washburn University
Leah Henke, Washburn University
"I'm very thankful that our team has earned the chance to continue to grow and get better in a Sweet Sixteen matchup versus a well-coached SCSU team," Washburn coach Davy Phillips said. "I am confident that the character in this group is going to keep us focused on our mentality and performance as we get the opportunity to compete in the elements that national tournament games in Minnesota provide."
Washburn is coming off a 4-2 penalty shootout win over No. 1-seed Minnesota State last Sunday, where the Ichabods scored first in the opening 15 minutes, and the Mavericks equalized in the 60th minute.
Washburn has 12 clean sheets this year, which is third most in program history.
Freshman goalkeeper Lili Everley broke her season high in saves with eight in a 2-0 win over No. 5 seed Missouri Western in the Ichabods' NCAA opener, then broke it again with nine saves on Sunday, with four in overtime to keep the match all square and force PKs. Everley also recorded a save in PKs.
Leah Henke has scored 11 goals in her freshman season, which is tied for fourth in Washburn history for most goals in a single season, and second most by an Ichabod freshman.
Defenders Shaye Taylor and Rilyn Snyder played all 110 minutes against Minnesota State and are 17th and 18th in program history in minutes played in a single season.
Both players scored their first-ever collegiate goals this year, both were off free kicks.
St. Cloud State is 16-2-5 on the season, coming off a 3-0 win over No. 6-seed Pittsburg State 3-0 and a 2-1 victory in overtime over the No. 7 seed Central Missouri.
Sunday will be the first meeting between Washburn and St. Cloud State.
