Dejá Vu: After securing a decisive 2-0 victory over Concordia to win the MIAC championship on Saturday, the Saint Benedict soccer team (14-2-1, 9-2-0 MIAC) hosts that same Cobber team tomorrow (Nov. 5) in the first round of the MIAC playoffs. The game is set to start at 2 p.m. and will be played at Saint John's at Haws Field. The Blazers are the first-seed in the tournament while the Cobbers are the fourth-seed, and the winner of tomorrow's game will advance to the MIAC Tournament Championship on Saturday. Either third-seed St. Olaf or second-seed Macalester will await today's victor in the championship.

Tickets: Tickets are $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. With the support of CSB Senate,  matched by Blazer Athletics, the first 100 students will get in free.
 
About the Cobbers: The Cobbers, along with the Blazers, were picked in the preseason to be co-winners of the MIAC. Heading into the season's home stretch, the Cobbers had won 10 of their past 12 games. Since then however, they have dropped three of their past four and have been outscored 7-to-2 over that span. They boasted one of the conference's best defenses during the regular season, ceding only 0.69 goals per conference game this season. That defense is led by junior defender Libby Fransdal, who was All-Region as a sophomore in 2012. They are led in scoring by junior forward Elizabeth Robinson, who leads the team with 12 goals and 28 points.
 
Last Year: In 2012, the end-of-the-year sequence of events was similar to this year, except the teams were reversed. The Cobbers came to St. Joe in the last game of the regular season and defeated the Blazers 2-1 to clinch the conference championship. The following week the Blazers traveled to Moorhead for the first round of the playoffs. In the 15th minute, Cobber forward Libby Fransdal scored the only goal of the game... a free kick from 45 yards out that ended the Blazers' season.
 
Storyline: Can the Blazers give the Cobbers a taste of their own medicine and beat them in back-to-back games? They won Saturday's game by two goals, but were outshot 8-to-5 in shots on goal. There were also a combined 16 fouls from both teams in Saturday's game, the chippiest game the Blazers have played in this year. With battle-tested veterans on both sides of the field the only aspect you can count on is that no easy goals will be had.
 
Who to Watch: Keep an eye on senior forward Colleen Bouchard (Cedar Rapids, Minn.), who led the team in every offensive category this season. Her crafty footwork has created more assists than anyone else in Blazer history. She played a "foot" in over half of the goals the Blazers scored this year. On the other hand, this will be the first postseason action of first-year keeper Heather Kaluzniak's (Plymouth, Minn.) career. This year she led the conference in save percentage at .885 and gave up a sensational 0.71 goals per game. Despite her first-year status she has played beyond her years in every big game this season. Look for that to continue tomorrow.

Colleen Bouchard	Heather Kaluzniak

 
Last Time Out: On Saturday the Blazers wrapped up head coach Steve Kimble's second MIAC title with a decisive 2-0 victory over the Cobbers. First-year forward Taylor Hedin (Andover, Minn.) scored the game-winner in the game's 28th minute, off a beautiful set-up by Bouchard. Sophomore forward Grace Vaughan (Shakopee, Minn.) sealed the victory in the 87th minute with a one-timer set up by Bouchard and senior midfielder Laura Kosch (Eden Prairie, Minn.). The game featured 16 fouls total, 10 of them committed by the Cobbers.