La Crosse, Wis. - In a game that featured two evenly matched teams it was Viterbo University that was able to take advantage of their limited scoring opportunities as they defeated Grand View University 2-1 in the final Midwest Collegiate Conference regular season game of 2009.

With both teams playing stingy defense, neither team was able to fire off many shots in the first half as there was just five shots total. The first half looked as though there may be no scoring but it was Grand View's Andrea Cain that changed that. Cain took a pass from Autumn Stephens and put it past V-Hawk goalie Stephanie Stacey (So. - New Berlin, Wis.) in the 30th minute. The score would remain 1-0 at the break as neither team could muster up any scoring opportunities in the final 15 minutes.

The second half started out much the same as the first as neither team could really get any offense going. That all changed in a two minute span. The V-Hawk offense woke up in the 72nd minute as freshman Nikki Reinart (Tomah, Wis.) scored her second goal of the season. Just two minutes later, the V-Hawks would take the lead on the eighth goal of the season by Lauren Neet (Fr. - Plover, Wis.). Neet's eight goals is a team high for the V-Hawks this season. The V-Hawk defense would tighten up down the stretch and hold the Vikings off the scoreboard.

After getting two shots off in the first half, Viterbo finished the game with a slim 9-8 advantage in shots. The V-Hawks also had a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks and also committed six fouls to only two for the Vikings. Stacey finished the contest with six saves for the V-Hawks while Vikings goalie Katie Zens finished with five saves.

The loss drops the Vikings to 7-9-2 overall and 4-2-2 in conference play. Viterbo improves to 7-9-1 overall and 4-3-1 in MCC action. Viterbo awaits the outcome of the Ashford vs. Clarke game to see where they end up in the MCC tournament. An Ashford loss or tie gives Viterbo the #4 seed while an Ashford win gives the V-Hawks the #5 seed. The difference in seeds means the V-Hawks will either host Ashford University or travel to Grand View University on Saturday in the first round of the MCC tournament. Opponent and game time will be announced on Sunday night.