Nazareth Earns AQ and Ithaca Gets At-Large to NCAA Tournament
Complete bracket
The Nazareth College and Ithaca College women's soccer teams played to a 0-0 tie in the Empire 8 Championship game on Saturday to be crowned co-champions for the sixth time. Nazareth earned the automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Tournament by virtue of a 4-3 mark in the penalty kick shootout and Ithaca received an at-large bid into the 64-team field.
THE 2014 NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 64-team, single-elimination tournament that includes 44 winners of conferences whose champions earn automatic berths and 20 teams from those conferences who did not win their conference title. Sixteen four-team sites will conduct first- and second-round play on the first weekend of the championship, Nov. 14-15 or 15-16. Second-round winners will advance to one of four sectional sites Nov. 21-22 or 22-23. All games, except the semifinals and final, will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. Winners of the four sectionals will advance to the semifinals Dec. 5-6, at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri.
NAZARETH
Nazareth will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2008 and will serve as host for the first and second rounds to be played at Golden Flyer Stadium Saturday and Sunday.
Nazareth (14-3-3 overall) gained an automatic berth as co-champion of the Empire 8 Conference and will host Worcester State (14-3-1) Saturday at 11 a.m. The Lancers gained an automatic berth as champion of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The second game features Amherst (11-5-0) vs. New York University (11-5-2) Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Amherst is one of four schools from the New England Small College Athletic Conference to be selected, while NYU is one of six teams to gain a berth from the University Athletic Association. The winners meet Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Golden Flyers are unbeaten in their last seven games (5-0-2) and gained the E8's automatic berth following a 0-0 tie at Ithaca Saturday. Nazareth then won the post-game penalty kick session, 4-3, to gain the berth.
Players to watch for Nazareth include five first-team all-conference players, including graduate student
Christine Belding, who leads the team with nine goals, including two in last Friday's 2-0 win over Stevens in the conference semifinals. Sophomore
Michaela Soules leads the team in assists with 11 to go with five goals. Junior
Briana Vibbard is another scoring threat with seven goals and three assists, while seniors
Tyler Carr and
Kaitlyn Sowyrda anchor a stingy defense that has yielded just 14 goals in 20 games for a 0.68 goals-against average with 10 shutouts. Carr was the MVP of the E8 Tournament and was named as the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Sophomore goalkeeper
Allison Dobles has been steady with seven shutouts of her own and a 0.50 goals-against average.
ITHACA
The Bombers will head to Williamstown, Mass., where they will play a neutral site first round game against the Springfield Pride (13-3-4). Williams (16-1-1), the host institution, will play Lasell (17-4-0) in the opening round. First round play starts on Saturday, Nov. 15.
This season marks the 12th-straight appearance for the Ithaca College women's soccer team in the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers have reached the NCAA playoffs 25 times, 18 of those coming under current head coach,
Mindy Quigg. Ithaca is 36-18-9 in NCAA playoff competition. The program's four-straight trips to the NCAA semifinals from 1988 through 1991 were highlighted by consecutive national titles in 1990 and 1991. The Bombers reached the quarterfinals in 2013, reaching the Elite 8 after defeating Penn State-Behrend (3-0), Rowan (1-0) and Messiah (1-0 OT). Ithaca's postseason run ended with a 1-0 loss to William Smith, the eventual nation champion.
Ithaca last met Springfield in the NCAA Tournament in 2010. The Bombers defeated the Pride by a score of 1-0 in the opening round on a goal from Megan Trager. Goalkeeper Jessica Platt made seven saves in the win.
The Bombers last met Williams in the NCAA Tournament in 2008. Ithaca fell by a score of 2-0 in the quarterfinals to the then No. 1 Ephs. Goalkeeper Alyssa Sotomayor made four saves on six shots.
The Bombers have never played Lasell in the NCAA playoffs.
The Bombers finished the regular season with an overall record of 14-3-1, most recently earning a share of the Empire 8 title with a 0-0 tie against Nazareth.
The Bombers are led offensively by junior
Kelsey King, who paces Ithaca with 12 goals and 29 points. Fellow junior
Sarah Woychick ranks second on the Bombers with seven goals, combining with three assists for 17 points. Sophomore
Holly Niemiec is third on the team with 13 points, coming on three goals and seven assists. Junior goalkeeper
Beth Coppolecchia has started every game for Ithaca this season, giving her a record of 14-3-1. She's earned 10 individual shutouts, and has combined with Ithaca's other goalkeepers for 11 scoreless contests this season. She has an impressive .56 goals-against-average, and a .863 save percentage.