CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The second-seeded Lesley University women's soccer team will open up New England Collegiate Conference play on Saturday night when they host seventh-seeded Newbury College at 7:30p on Edward Field.
The four-time defending champion Lynx are vying for their sixth title in the program's history while the Nighthawks, who have qualified for the tournament in each of the last eight seasons, are looking to advance past the opening round for the first time.
NECC WOMEN'S SOCCER FIRST ROUND
No. 7 Newbury College (7-10-0, 4-5-0 NECC) at No. 2 Lesley University (13-4-2, 8-1-0 NECC)
Saturday, October 29th – 7:30p
Edward Field – 80 Gerry's Landing Road, Cambridge, Mass.
Scouting Lesley
The Lynx are entering postseason play on a tear as they have won six in a row and nine of their last ten matches. During that span, Lesley has outscored their opponents by a 43-4 margin. The high-octane offense is led by junior Karlie Rubin (San Diego, Calif.) and sophomores Jordan Mitchell (Sachse, Texas) and Samantha Bessey (Algonquin, Ill.). Rubin has scored nine goals and dished out eight assists while the sophomore duo of Mitchell and Bessey have each found the back of the net ten times and combined for nine helpers.
Junior goalkeeper Lilly Donovan (Newburyport, Mass.) has been phenomenal in between the pipes as she has posted a miniscule 0.46 goals against average with two shutouts while keeping a 5-1-0 record.
Scouting Newbury
Newbury enters the postseason winners of three of their last four, with their lone blemish coming in a 5-1 defeat to the Lynx. First year head coach Karen Gurnon led Newbury to a 7-10-0 mark, a three win improvement from the 2015 season where they finished 4-11-1. Junior Shannon Walsh finished tied for second in the NECC with 13 goals to go with a pair of assists to pace the Nighthawks offensive attack. Freshmen Amanda Cardoso and Jaime Tine have combined for four goals and four assists in their rookie season.
Sophomore keeper Noelle Sass worked to a 7-7-0 record in 2016, holding a 1.86 goals against average and a .796 save percentage.
Previous Matchup
The Lynx raced past the Nighthawks 5-1 in their only meeting of the season last Saturday, October 22nd. The win was the 150th for head coach Paul Vasconcelos in his tenure as Lesley's leader. Rubin notched her second hat-trick of the season while senior Julie Essick (Boerne, Texas) enjoyed a four-point afternoon with a goal and two assists. Walsh was the lone goal scorer for Newbury.
What At Stake
The winner will advance to the Semifinal Round and face the winner of third-seeded Regis College and sixth-seeded Becker College. The Semifinal