MANKATO, Minn.- No. 2 seed Augustana soccer claims its first-ever NSIC Tournament Championship Sunday, with a 1-0 victory over No. 4 Winona State. With the victory, the Vikings also earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Soccer Championships.

Samantha Tymkowicz scored her 14th goal of the season, to give the Vikings the lead in the 52nd minute by beating the goalie in the upper right corner. The goal would prove pivotal as neither the Vikings nor the Warriors would score the rest of the match.

Augustana (18-2-1) would record their 11th shutout of the season, behind the play of the NSIC Tournament Most Valuable Player, Taylor Machacek. Machacek stopped four Winona State (13-5-3) shots on the day. Machacek would give up only one goal in the the three matches played over the course of the NSIC Tournament.

The Augustana defense held tough midway through the second half, clearing a couple of dangerous corner kick opportunities by Winona State.

Tymkowicz had a couple of great chances early in the first half on crosses from Stephanie Stevens. Winona's Rachel Oleson made a big save on Stevens' chance in the 27th minute.

Machacek made a key save with about four minutes to go in the half to keep the game scoreless. Augustana outshot the Warriors 6-5 in the half.

Augustana had four girls named to the NSIC All-Tournament team announced by the league office. The four Vikings to earn this honor were: Taylor Machacek, Samantha Tymkowicz, Emily Jacobson and Stephanie Stevens.

With Augustana's 1-0 victory over Winona State, the Vikings earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Soccer Championships. The first and second rounds will be played Nov. 13-15. This will be Augustana's third all-time apperance in the NCAA Championships. The locations of the matches will be determined tomorrow evening during the NCAA Selection Show. The show will take place via webcast at 5:30 p.m. (CT). You can watch the selection online HERE.

--- GoAugie.com

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