Aquinas College earned the top seed for the 2009 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament with a conference record of 9-2-1. On the line is bragging rights and an automatic berth to the 51st Annual NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship.

Indiana Institute of Technology grabbed the second seed and will host a first-round game against No. 3 Cornerstone University at 2 p.m. Fourth-seeded Davenport University rounds out the four-team tournament and will play Aquinas at 2 p.m.

Aquinas received votes in the last edition of the NAIA national rating for a 30th ranking and finished the regular season with a 13-3-2 overall record. The Saints enter the tournament third in scoring, averaging just 1.82 goals per game, but lead the conference in defense, allowing only 0.65 goals per game. Jeo Pantoja accounts for nearly half of the team's 21 goals, putting in 10 himself. The clutch performer also ranks first in the country for game-winning goals with seven.

Indiana Tech secured the second seed by defeating Concordia University 2-0 on Nov. 4 to close out the conference season at 7-3-2. Tech, now 10-6-2 overall, is averaging 1.94 goals per game and have outscored its opponents 39-25 behind the legs Mike Lewis and Joel Putek. Lewis has seven goals and Putek has six.

Third-seeded Cornerstone enters the tournament with a 6-4-2 WHAC record, 9-7-2 overall. The Golden Eagles lead the WHAC in scoring, averaging two goals per game thanks in part to Matt Osorio, who leads the conference with six assists.

Davenport clinched a playoff berth with a win against Siena Heights University last Saturday. The Panthers finished 5-7-0 in conference games, 7-10-0 overall. As a team, DU scored 24 goals while allowing 24 goals. Alex Boehm scored eight of those goals and ranks in the top 50 for game-winning goals with three.

The winner of the WHAC tournament advances to the first round of the 2009 NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship, played on campus sites. The games then move to Fresno, Calif. and the campus of Frenso Pacific University for a 16-team single-elimination tournament.

 

 

#4 Davenport (7-10-0) at #1 Aquinas (13-3-2), 2 p.m.

#3 Cornerstone (9-7-2) at #2 Indiana Tech (10-6-2), 2 p.m.

at highest remaining seed

Click here for updated results and bracket.