CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The No. 2 seeded Lesley University women's soccer team looks to capture the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship when the squad kicks off the conference tournament with a matchup against No.3 seeded Maine Maritime Academy. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. at No. 1 seeded Husson University.
Lesley women's soccer head coach, Paul Vasconcelos, is looking forward to the challenge ahead in this year's NAC Championship and feels the squad is ready. "We love to be able to say that we are still playing in November," said Vasconcelos. "That said, we feel like we are playing some good soccer going into the playoffs. We have an experienced team who knows their way around post-season play. We are excited about the opportunity to play for another conference championship."
Five Things To Know
- The Mariners are the reigning NAC champions, as they bested SUNY Morrisville, 1-0, last season.
- Lesley and Maine Maritime will meet once again in the NAC Tournament after the two sides squared off last year, where the Mariners escaped with a 1-0 win.
- Earlier this season, Lesley defeated Maine Maritime, 4-1 (Sept. 28), in the 11th meeting between the schools and then later tied, 3-3, in their 12th meeting (Oct.26). Overall, Maine Maritime currently holds a 7-4-1 edge. However, the Lynx have won two out of the last four matchups and tied in one.
- Lesley comes into Saturday's contest boasting top rankings on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Lynx finished as the second-highest scoring team in the NAC, averaging 2.6 goals per game, and defensively, they have only let up 1.00 goals per game.
- In the state of Maine this year, the Lynx finished with a record of 3-2-0.
Who To Watch For
- Abby Kalou (Chicago, Ill.) and her offense will be a crucial factor for the Lynx on Saturday. The senior forward finished the year with a team-high eight goals and dished out five assists (21 points). Her eight goals rank her in the top five of the NAC (fifth). If Kalou can find the back of the net for Lesley, the Lynx are in good hands as the team is an impressive 8-0-0. In her two outings against the Mariners this year, Kalou has dished out an assist, and in her career against Maine Maritime, she scored once and had one assist.
- Along with Kalou, the Lynx high-powered offense features six goal-scorers who have scored five or more times this year, including Ariana Bunch (Newton, Mass.), Kylie Chagnon (Framingham, Mass.), Zoe Curtaz (Novato, Calif.), Chase Livesey (St. Petersburg, Fla.), and Lily Wright (Haymarket, Va.).
- Leecy Cruz (San Antonio, Texas) will be looked upon to help guide the offense. The first-year finished with a team-high six assists, including a three-assist outing earlier this week against Mass. Maritime (Oct. 30). Each time she has recorded an assist this season, Lesley is 3-0-0. Her six assists also have her tied for second in the NAC, and she leads all first-year student-athletes in the category.
- In net, Lesley features two of the conference's top goalies, Lauren Lacy (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Madison Reed (Burlingame, Calif.). Lacy finished the year with a record of 6-2-2 and has a conference-best goals-against average (GAA) of 1.00. In her two career games against the Mariners, Lacy went 1-0-1 and made nine total saves. Meanwhile, Reed went 4-4-0 this year and posted a GAA of 0.88. Reed allowed one goal or fewer in seven of her eight starts this year. Reed has played against the Mariners twice in her career and is 1-1-0. She allowed only one goal and made four total saves.
- For Maine Maritime, the Mariners will look upon Kirra Magana, who finished with a career-high and conference-best 21 goals and seven assists. Her 21 goals also rank her within the top 10 (seventh) of Division III women's soccer. Magana was also one of the Mariners' most clutch student-athletes this season, with a career-high and NAC best six game-winning goals. Her six game-winners are tied for fourth in all of Division III.
- One of the Mariner's other key student-athletes on offense is Hadley Stoddard, as she was right behind Magana in assists with five. The first-year mid-fielder posted two multi-assist games on the year and is second in the conference regarding first-year student-athletes in assists.
- Maine Maritime's goalie, Isa Thesing, finished as one of the conference's top goalies this year. The sophomore netminder finished with a 7-5-4 record and had a 2.03 GAA. Thesing currently ranks within the top 10 in multiple goalie stats in the NAC, including shutouts (four-second) and saves (71-fourth).
What's Next
Quarterfinal winners will advance to the East Division Semifinal, held at Husson on Sunday, November 3, with the victorious team securing home-field advantage for the 2024 NAC Championship game.