APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University women's soccer team claimed its first regular-season championship in program history Saturday with a 6-0 rout of Grinnell College on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.
    Lawrence finished the conference season with a 7-0-1 record and tied for the title with Lake Forest College. The two teams tied during the regular season, and Lake Forest earned the right to host the conference tournament on Nov. 7-8 based on goal differential.
    "I'm incredibly proud of this group of players," Lawrence coach Joe Sagar said. "They have worked so hard for this moment, and to deal it with a resounding victory was special. We can enjoy today, but we know Monday we are back to work on our goal of being conference tournament champions."
    Lawrence, which has won the Midwest Conference Tournament three times, will face Grinnell (8-5-3, 5-2-1 MWC) again in the tournament semifinals on Nov. 7. Lake Forest will take on Beloit College in the other semifinal. The tournament champion receives an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
    The Vikings, who improved to 13-4-2 overall and tied the Lawrence record for wins in a season, broke the game open in the first half on Saturday.
    Cambrie Rickard got the Vikings on the board at the 3:09 mark when he tapped home a pass from Natalie Linebarger, who has a school-record 15 assists on the season. Lawrence doubled the advantage when Maya Alberts headed in a ball from Hannah Kalt at the 30:18 mark.
    Rickard got her second goal of the day when she scored off a pass from Linebarger at 33:32 for a 3-0 advantage. Kylie Melonis then scored after a scramble in front of the net with just 13 seconds left in the half to give the Vikings a 4-0 lead at the break.
    Ava Elders then added a pair of second-half scores for the final margin. Elders scored at 56:50 off a pass from Linebarger and she got the game's final goal on a penalty kick at 68:49.
    Ella Lysne made five saves for the Vikings to record the shutout, Lawrence's fourth in a row and the sixth for Lysne this season.  
    Lawrence piled up a 21-6 edge in shots for the match.