Morgan Bittengle impressed everyone in the GLIAC with four goals in the Ashland Women’s soccer team final four matches. Behind the freshman striker’s performance, AU won all four to earn a spot in the GLIAC conference tournament.

That was only the warm up for Bittengle.

Bittengle saved her best performance of the season for the post season. In the quarterfinal matchup against Saginaw Valley State, the first year forward single handily carried AU to the semifinals, scoring a hat trick to push fifth seeded Ashland past the fourth seeded Cardinals 5-2.

Second year head coach Danny Krispinsky said, “Morgan has been great for us all year. It’s tough to keep a player like her, who is multidimensional, off the score sheet.”

Ashland, who avenged a 2-1 loss to SVSU back on October 3rd, will travel to Columbus to face top seed Ohio Dominican on Friday Nov 7. The Panthers knocked off AU 2-1 in September in the GLIAC opener for both teams.

The victory over SVSU was Ashland’s third in a six-day period. AU entered the final week of the regular season needing a victory in one out of their final two matches to earn a spot in conference tournament.

AU started that final week with a visit to Canton to take on the Pioneers of Malone.

AU struck first in the 26th minute, as freshman Kelsey McKernan slammed home her third goal of season to give Ashland the early 1-0 advantage.

Not be outdone, fellow freshman Bittengle got into the act in the 32nd minute. Bittengle corralled Julie Lacock’s pass and put in the back of the cage to double the AU lead to 2-0.

Malone got a goal back before halftime to cut their deficit to 2-1. The second half belonged to AU. Alexandra Kovarik added to Ashland’s lead in the 73rd minute, converting the goal off the pass from McKernan. Kovarik’s second goal in as many matches padded the AU to 3-1.

Behind a dominating start to finish performance that saw the Eagles outshoot Malone 24-10, Ashland punched their ticket to the GLIAC tournament with a 3-1 win.

Krispinsky said, “It was very important to get off to a good start and get that first goal. That early score helped us manage the game better and dictate the play.”

The Eagles returned to action two days later, as they welcomed the Oilers of Findlay University to Ferguson field.

Both teams felt the November chill, as the match was contested in sub freezing weather and with snowflakes in the air.

Bittengle kicked off the scoring in the 5th minute, heading in McKernan’s corner kick for her 12th and final goal of the regular season. Bittengle gave AU the immediate 1-0 lead.

Fellow freshman Brittany Elhert added a tally to the score sheet in the 17th minute. Elhert smashed home a rebound off a corner kick for her second goal of the season that increased the Ashland advantage to 2-0.

McKernan and Bittengle performed a role reversal in the 47th minute. This time it was McKernan controlling a Bittengle pass and putting it in the net for the goal. McKernan’s fourth goal of the campaign gave Ashland a nearly insurmountable 3-0 lead.

The Oilers tacked on a late goal but it proved to not be enough as Ashland finished the regular season at 11-6 overall and 7-5 in GLIAC play. The victory allowed AU to clinch the number five seeding heading into the GLIAC tournament.

Krispinsky marveled at his team’s resiliency, “We knew that we had to win our last four games to earn a top 5 seed and we were able to do that. ”

He added, “We’ve played very well in those games. We’ve been able to keep the ball, create chances, and control the tempo of the game. It’ll be important for us to continue to do this in the GLIAC tournament.”

Ashland traveled up to University Center, Michigan to take on the Cardinals in the GLIAC quarterfinals.

Before the match Krispinsky spoke highly of their Michigan opponent, “Saginaw is a very good team. They’ve been ranked in the Top 25 for the most part of this year and have had a great season.”

The game plan according to Krispinsky was simple, “We need to score the first goal, keep their dangerous players in front of us, and continue to control the game like we have in our last four matches. If we do this, we’ll be in a good position to win the game.”

SVSU broke one part of AU’s game plan, as the cardinals got on the board first. Shelby Watts beat Karly Bueck in the 26th minute. Her fourth goal of the season gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Morgan Bittengle responded for AU just 16 seconds later. Off the feed from Kelsey McKernan, the freshman knotted the match up at one. Bittengle was far from over.

Only three minutes later, Bittengle struck again. This time she used her head, heading in her second goal in just over three minutes. Bittengle pushed AU in front 2-1.

Seven minutes into the second half, Bittengle put the match out of reach. On the long pass from McKernan, Bittengle sent the ball past the keeper for her third goal of the match. The goal capped the hat trick for Bittengle and gave her the GLIAC lead in goals with 15 on the season.

Alexandra Manley and Kathleen Demaree each added to the scoreboard in the second half, as AU pulled off the upset defeating SVSU on their home field, 5-2 the final score.

For AU to continue their five game winning streak against top seeded Ohio Dominican in the GLIAC tournament semifinals, they will need the freshman phenom Bittengle to continue her excellent play.

Her head coach Krispinsky believes in her, “She’s a key player in our attack, because she scores goals in so many different ways, which makes her so valuable. Morgan is good with her back to goal, she can run by players, she positions herself in the right places, and she’s very good in the air.”