DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Ashford University women's soccer team was hard at work over the weekend, competing in the Loras College Indoor Tournament while showing little signs of rust the program was in offseason mode.

The Saints finished runner-up in the exclusive 16-team event, which featured four pools of local collegiate teams. AU was edged out in the title game, 1-0, by the Loras College alumni.

Ashford's run to the finals began with a 4-1 win over defending Midwest Collegiate Conference champion St. Ambrose University. That was followed by a 2-0 win over Wartburg College in the second round, an 8-0 shutout over Monmouth College in the quarterfinals and a 3-0 blanking of Grinnell College in the semifinals.

AU women's soccer Head Coach Mick Regan, who led the Saints to a 12-6-1 record this past year, was very pleased with what he saw.

"Tournaments like these really give our team motivation to work out and run in the offseason," he said. "It's very encouraging to come out and beat (defending MCC champion) St. Ambrose; it really proves we have skilled players."

Stats were not kept, but two-time All-MCC forward and former MCC Newcomer of the Year Abbye Garcia of Stillman Valley, Ill., said she would have awarded freshman center midfielder Chelsea Fisher (First Team All-MCC selection) of Calgary, Alberta, the MVP honors.

"It was really nice because it was an equal opportunity for everyone," Garcia said. "If we would have kept stats, you would have seen an even distribution among players who had goals and assists."

Regan is taking his team up to Platteville, Wis., for a similar tournament in two weeks.