CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The four-time defending Lesley University women's soccer team will look to extend their title streak to five when they travel to Elms College to battle the top-seeded Blazers for the New England Collegiate Conference Championship match tomorrow Saturday afternoon at 1:00p. This marks the fourth straight season the two sides will square off for the championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
NECC WOMEN'S SOCCER FIRST ROUND
No. 2 Lesley University (15-4-2, 8-1-0 NECC) at No. 1 Elms College (17-3-1, 9-0-0 NECC)
Saturday, November 5th – 1:00p
Leary Field – Elms College – 291 Springfield Street, Chicopee, MA 01013
FAN BUS FOR LESLEY STUDENTS WILL BE LEAVING FROM THE ADMISSIONS BUILDING (1627 Mass. Ave.) PROMPTLY AT 10:30AM
Scouting Lesley
After falling behind 1-0 in the fourth minute of action, the Lynx exploded for three goals in the second half to defeat third-seeded Regis College in their Semifinal matchup this past Wednesday night. It was the usual suspects who ignited the Lynx offense as sophomore Jordan Mitchell (Sachse, Texas) found the back of the net twice while junior Karlie Rubin (San Diego, Calif.) connected for the game-winner. Mitchell now has 12 goals on the season while Rubin and sophomore Samantha Bessey (Algonquin, Ill.) each have 11 tallies.
The Lynx and Blazers are tied atop the conference with 64 total goals scored this season.
Lynx keeper Lilly Donovan (Newburyport, Mass.) made four stops in the win over the Pride to improve to 10-4-2 overall on the season with a 0.806 save percentage and 0.80 goals against average.
Scouting Elms
The Blazers also found their scoring touch in the second half of their 3-0 Semifinal victory over Bay Path. After heading into halftime knotted at 0-0, Kelsey Shea would break the scoreless tie just 4:35 into the second half to give the Blazers a one goal advantage. Brie Voight followed before Shea struck for her second marker of the game to put the match out of reach and advance to the Finals with a 3-0 win.
Voight powers the Blazers offense as she has scored 18 goals to go with nine assists while Jackie Soucia scored six times and boasts a conference-leading 13 assists.
The Elms defense is also a tough group to penetrate as they lead the conference with a 0.47 goals against average and 15 shutouts. Freshman goalie Rebecca Molin has played every minute in between the pipes and kept a .811 save percentage and 0.47 GAA.
Previous Matchup
Elms beat Lesley for the first time in regular season play since the 2008 season with a 1-0 win back on Saturday, September 24th at Leary Field. Blazer junior MacKenzie LaRochelle scored the only goal of the game in the 18th minute. The Lynx continued to press on and pepper the Blazer cage and outshot their hosts by a 5-0 margin in the second half, but could not break through.
Lesley has defeated Elms in the past three title matches.
What's At Stake
The winner will earn the conference automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that will kick off on Saturday, November 12th. Lesley is vying for their sixth title in program history while Elms is aiming to capture their third conference championship.