Cambridge, Mass. – Defending champions Lesley University finished the season undefeated at 9-0-0 in NECC regular season play to earn the top spot in the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Women's Soccer Championship.
Lesley will look to 2018 NECC Player of the Year McKenna Straube and NECC Rookie of the Year Sophie Smurthwaite, as announced by conference officials Friday afternoon to anchor the Lynx squad through post season. Along with Smurthwaite, the Lynx defense is led by goalkeepers Brittley Gaan (Bellevue, Wash.) and Jill Narby (Huntington, N.Y.), who did not allow a single goal in nine NECC games this season. Offensively, Lesley is led by Jordan Mitchell (Sachse, Texas), who has netted a team-high six goals in conference play. The Lynx will host the eighth seeded Dean College on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The Bulldogs, who finished conference play at 2-6-1, have also seen strong play from their goalkeeper, Macy Parisee (East Freetown, Mass.). Parisee finished with a 1.70 goals-against average, and a .865 save percentage in eight conference starts.
View our post season recap and press conference here:
In their first season as a member of the NECC, New England College has earned the two seed, finishing the regular season with a 7-1-1 league record. The Pilgrims have a potent offense, leading the league with 30 goals in conference play. NEC features the one-two punch of Michaela Pomeroy (Thetford, Vt.) and Emily LePage (West Greenwich, R.I.), who finished second and third in the league with 11 and seven goals, respectively. New England College will host its first NECC postseason game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., taking on seventh seeded Bay Path University. The 3-6-0 Wildcats will look to Jai Ruiz (Hadley, Mass.) to make an impact, as she has tallied six goals in league play.
Elms College secured the three seed after finishing with a 7-2-0 record. The Blazers have a balanced offensive attack, led by freshman Sydney Goodwin's (Lawrence, Mass.) four conference goals. Elms will face the sixth seeded Becker College (4-4-1) on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. The Hawks boast the league's top offensive threat in Lindsey Keith (Sutton, Mass.), who has scored 12 conference goals.
The four seed goes to Southern Vermont College, who finishes regular season play with a 6-3-0 record. The Mountaineers have seen freshman Maddie Gibney (Albany, N.Y.) come on strong in the back half of the season, and now leads the team with six conference goals. Southern Vermont will face off against fifth seeded Eastern Nazarene (4-4-1) on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The Lions picked up the five seed by virtue of a tiebreaker with Becker College (Eastern Nazarene topped Becker in head-to-head play). The Lions' Diamond Best (Danvers, Mass.) leads her squad with five goals in conference play.
First Round – Saturday, October 27
#7 Bay Path (3-6-0) at #2 New England College (7-1-1) - 4:30 p.m.
#6 Becker (4-4-1*) at #3 Elms (7-2-0) – 1 p.m.
5 Eastern Nazarene (4-4-1*) at #4 Southern Vermont (6-3-0) – 12 p.m.
Sunday, October 28
#8 Dean (2-6-1) at #1 Lesley (9-0-0) – 6 p.m. (Arlington High School)
Semifinals – Wednesday, October 31 (at highest seed)
Game 5: Game 4 winner vs. Game 1 Winner– TBD
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 2 Winner – TBD
Championship – Saturday, November 3 (at highest seed)
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – TBA