BOCA RATON, Florida – A goal from Morgan Hall in the 20th minute propelled East No. 1 seed Old Dominion (12-4-1) to a 1-0 victory over West No. 1 seed Southern Miss (10-3-3) in the 2021 Conference USA Women’s Soccer Championship title game played in the FAU Soccer Stadium.
 
The victory by the Monarchs earns Old Dominion the C-USA automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship. It is the first C-USA tournament title for Old Dominion.
 
Old Dominion’s Carla Morich, who led an offense that scored four goals in the three games in the tournament and had a key assist in the semifinal victory over Middle Tennessee, was selected as the tournament’s Offensive MVP, while Emily Roberts, who anchored the Monarchs’ back line that allowed only one goal in the tournament, was selected as the Defensive MVP.
 
Morich and Roberts were joined on the C-USA All-Tournament Team by Old Dominion teammates Ece Turkoglu, and Kasey Perry. Other members of the All-Tournament team were Southern Miss’ Ariel Diaz, Ilana Izquierdo and Kendell Mindnich, UAB’s Morgan Halliwill and Lexxe Lipsey along with Peyton DePriest and Carolina Manley of Middle Tennessee.
 
In the first half, Megan Watts took a pass down the right side and eluded two defenders in the 18-yard box. She lifted a cross to the other side of the goal, where Hall headed it home past a diving Southern Miss goaltender in the left corner.
 
Old Dominion outshot the Golden Eagles 12-11 overall, and held a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Perry made three saves to give the Monarchs a clean sheet on defense, while Mindnich stopped six shots for Southern Miss.
 
To advance to the C-USA championship final, Old Dominion beat West No. 4 seed UTSA 1-0 in overtime in the quarterfinals and defeated East No. 3 seed Middle Tennessee 2-1 in the semifinals.
 
Southern Miss defeated the East No. 4 seed and host team Florida Atlantic 2-1 in the quarterfinals, and also defeated West No. 3 seed UAB 2-1 in the semifinals to reach the title game.
 
The Owls – and C-USA teams on the hunt for an at-large bid – now await the 2021 NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship Selection Show on Monday, November 8 at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT on NCAA.com, where they will learn who they will face in the first round as part of the 64-team field. The first round of the NCAA tournament will be played November 12-14 at campus sites.
 
2021 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship All-Tournament Team
Carla Morich, Old Dominion – Offensive MVP
Emily Roberts, Old Dominion – Defensive MVP
Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
Caroline Manley, Middle Tennessee
Kasey Perry, Old Dominion
Ece Turkoglu, Old Dominion
Ariel Diaz, Southern Miss
Ilana Izquierdo, Southern Miss
Kendell Mindnich, Southern Miss
Morgan Halliwill, UAB
Lexxe Lipsey, UAB
 
2021 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship Schedule
November 1-7, 2021 – Boca Raton, Florida (hosted by Florida Atlantic)
 
Monday, November 1 - First Round
Game 1: (4W) UTSA 1, (5W) North Texas 0 (2OT)
Game 2: (5E) Charlotte 2, (4E) Florida Atlantic 2 (2OT; FAU advances 5-4 on PKs)
 
Wednesday, November 3 - Quarterfinals
Game 3: (3E) Middle Tennessee 0, (2W) Rice 0 (2OT; MTSU advances 4-3 on PKs)
Game 4: (1E) Old Dominion 1, (4W) UTSA 0 (OT)
Game 5: (3W) UAB 1, (2E) WKU 0
Game 6: (1W) Southern Miss 2, (4E) Florida Atlantic 1
 
Friday, November 5 - Semifinals
Game 7: (1E) Old Dominion 2, (3E) Middle Tennessee 1
Game 8: (1W) Southern Miss 2, (3W) UAB 1
 
Sunday, November 7 - Championship Game
Game 9: (1E) Old Dominion 1, (1W) Southern Miss 0