Contact: Jenna McElroy, Sports Info & Social Media Intern, mcelroy@midwestconference.org

GRINNELL, Iowa – Midwest Conference (MWC) announced the Prairie Fire's Brooklyn Deming as the women's soccer Offensive Performer of the Week.
 
Deming, a sophomore from Paw Paw, Michigan, scored three goals and picked up an assist in three games this week. In the Prairie Fire's conference opening 7-0 defeat of Illinois College, Deming scored twice and assisted on the first goal. The sophomore then notched the game winner against UW-Platteville with three minutes remaining in the second overtime as Knox won 3-2.

Players are nominated for Performer of the Week by their institution's Sports Information Director; then one player is selected for offense and defense by the Conference Office. Selection is based off, in no order of priority, a nominee's statistics, the strength of opponent, team record, individual accomplishments, and intangibles.
 
Game Notes
 
Knox
at UW-Whitewater T0-0
vs. Illinois College W7-0
vs. UW-Platteville W3-2 (2OT)
 
The Prairie Fire battled through two overtimes before earning a draw against regionally-ranked UW-Whitewater. The two teams were also even in shots as the Warhawks held a slight 14-13 edge in that department. Knox picked up a dominating 7-0 win over Illinois College in its conference opener. The Prairie Fire's top two goal scorers, Olivia Grierson and Brooklyn Deming, each had two goals and an assist. Knox ended the weekend with a game against UW-Platteville that remained scoreless through one half before the Pioneers scored twice early in the second. The Prairie Fire didn't surrender though as they rallied to force overtime as Yvette Rodriguez assisted on goals by Jessica Peterson and Emma McCormick. Who else but team goal leader Brooklyn Deming to score the game winner as she put in a pass from Melissa London with just three minutes remaining in the second overtime.

Beloit
at Lake Forest W1-0
vs. Grinnell L1-1
 
Beloit's 1-0 victory over Lake Forest was not only the first Midwest Conference win of the women's soccer season but also the Buccaneers first win against the Foresters since 1992. Candace Cunningham's third goal of the season off a pass from Genesis Dade ten minutes into the game was enough as goalie Connor Keegan-Lloyd made 12 saves, six in each half. The Bucs fell behind early in their second conference game of the weekend as Grinnell scored three times in the first half. Beloit got on the board thanks to an own goal but despite out shooting the Pioneers 14-10, including 10 in the second half alone, the Bucs couldn't find the back of the net themselves.
 
Cornell
vs. Simpson L0-3,
vs. Monmouth W1-0
vs. Westminster T0-0
 
The Rams outshot Simpson 16-12 but they could not get one by the Storm goaltender as they lost 3-0 their last non-conference game before MWC play begins this weekend. Sofia Schnur led the team with five shots. Cornell picked up a big win to open conference play as it handed Monmouth its first shutout of the season. Sofia Schnur scored the game-winner early in the second half against the runner-up in the 2017 MWC Tournament. The Rams followed that performance up with another shutout, this time in a double overtime 0-0 tie against Westminster. Cornell held the Blue Jays scoreless a game after they scored 12 goals.

Grinnell
at Central L1-2 (OT)
at Beloit W4-1
 
Grinnell went down early as it surrendered a goal midway through the first half but Elyse Salpekar got the equalizer in the 76th minute on a shot from the right side. Each team got off three shots over the next 14 minutes but neither could score and the game headed to overtime. Unfortunately, the Pioneers got called for a foul in the box just two minutes in and the Dutch converted the resulting penalty kick for the 2-1 victory. Grinnell won its first conference game 4-1 over Beloit to extend its undefeated streak against the Buccaneers to 26. Four different players scored for the Pioneers including Valencia Alvarez's team-high third goal of the season and Elyse Salpekar's second of the week.

Illinois College
vs. Webster L0-5
at Knox L0-7
 
The Lady Blues dropped back to .500 as they were shutout by one-loss Webster. The Gorloks scored the first and only goal they would need in the 17th minute just before lightning delayed the game for an hour. Illinois college suffered its second shutout of the week as they fell to Knox 7-0 in its conference opener. Goalkeeper Lindsey Kormelink made 15 saves against the Prairie Fire.
 
Lake Forest
vs. Beloit L0-1
vs. Ripon L0-2
 
Despite having a 12-4 shot on goal advantage for the game, Lake Forest dropped its conference opener 0-1 to Beloit on Wednesday. The Buccaneers scored the lone goal only ten minutes in and the Foresters countered with a second half push as they outshot Beloit 11-3 in the second half but couldn't find the equalizer. Lake Forest once again outshot its opponent as it held a 14-11 advantage against Ripon but still could not find the back of the net for the second game in a row.

Lawrence
vs. St. Norbert L1-4
vs. Carroll L0-6
 
First-year Wakana Komura scored Lawrence's first goal of the season and the first of her career after breaking free down the right side and firing past the Green Knight goalkeeper to pull within one. Unfortunately, the Vikings couldn't overcome two second half St. Norbert goals and a hat trick by Dana Schwab.
 
Monmouth
at Cornell L0-1
Monmouth and Cornell were locked in a defensive battle through one half of play but a Rams goal two minutes into the second half was enough to hand the Scots their first shutout loss of the season. Monmouth's best chance to tie came on a shot from Jacie Reis but the Rams' goalie made the save and a rebound shot by Devin Cross was blocked.

Ripon
at Lake forest W2-0
 
The Red Hawks earned a 2-0 shutout victory in their conference opener thanks to a pair of goals from Paige Pierce. The two goals brought Pierce's season total to a team-high six goals. Her 28 career goals rank seventh in Ripon history. Miye Aoki-Kramer made three saves to pick up her first shutout of the season.
 
St. Norbert
vs. Carroll L0-1
at Lawrence W4-1
at UW-Platteville L4-6
 
The Green Knights scoring woes continued Tuesday evening as they lost by a score of 1-0 for the fourth time in five games. The game was scoreless until the 64th minute when Carroll converted out front for the lone goal of the game. The Pioneers had a 12-3 shot advantage for the game. St. Norbert goalkeeper Ally Magiera made four saves. Dana Schwab's hat trick led the way for the Green Knights in their conference opening 4-1 win at Lawrence. Schwab scored her first in the 20th off an assist from Hanna Lech who then scored on of her own seven minutes later.  After the Vikings cut St. Norbert's lead to 2-1,