November 14, 2013
Oneonta Women's Soccer Set to Open NCAA Tournament on Saturday
The SUNY Oneonta women's soccer team will open play this weekend in the 2013 NCAA Division III tournament. Their first round opponent is Farmingdale State College, who earned the automatic berth out of the Skyline Conference. The two will square off in the second of two games on Saturday at William Smith College beginning at 1:30pm.
The first game will feature host William Smith from the Liberty League versus Cabrini of the Colonial States Athletic Conference at 11am. Both teams received the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning their conference championships.
Oneonta has never faced either Farmingdale State or Cabrini, but has previously played William Smith in the regular season and in the NCAA tournament. Oneonta also has a history of travelling to William Smith during the NCAA tournament, but has only faced the Herons twice previously in the tournament.
Oneonta is 0-2 all time against William Smith in the tournament including in 2010, when the Herons knocked the Red Dragons out of the NCAA tournament, 2-1, in the sectional round, which is the round of 16 teams.
"I am very proud of how much this team has grown this season off the field as well as on," said Head Coach Liz McGrail. "They are a great group to work with, striving to be the best they can be and pushing each other to be the best team we can be."
The SUNY Oneonta women's soccer team will be making its 14th NCAA appearance all time in 2013 after winning its 12th SUNYAC title this past weekend versus SUNY Geneseo 4-1. The 12 conference championships are the most for women's soccer in the SUNYAC. This is Oneonta's first NCAA berth since 2010, which marks its last conference championship. Oneonta made a run of 12 straight NCAA tournament berths from 1999-2010.
The women have one national title to its credit, which they won in 2003 against the University of Chicago 2-1. The Red Dragons tied the score in the final minute of the game before ending it two minutes into the first overtime on a goal by Sanada Mujanovic. That championship is the last time the national championship weekend was on a college campus.
Oneonta will enter the tournament with an overall record of 12-4-3 including a record of 9-1-3 since Sep. 27. Oneonta's only loss in the last 13 games was to Ithaca, who also is in the tournament and, who, is in their side of the bracket. The Red Dragons have outscored its opponents 38-15 while holding a decided advantage in shots 246-185. They also hold nearly a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks at 101-51.
"I'm more than excited to play this weekend and continue our season into NCAA's," said senior Amanda Regensburger (Selden/Newfield), who was a freshman in 2010 when Oneonta last played in the NCAA tournament. "We have such a great group of girls and I am grateful to have the privilege to play with them."
Individually, SUNYAC Player of the Year Karly DeSimone (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) has been a force offensively in the latter part of the season in leading Oneonta into the tournament. She currently has 11 goals and seven assists, which includes three goals scored during the SUNYAC tournament last week, which earned her Tournament MVP honors.
Sophomores Kayla Ceschini (Miller Place/Miller Place) and Jessica Lyden (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills) have contributed offensively this fall, as both have reached double digits in points with 13 and 11 respectively. Ceschini has scored five goals this season, all of which are game-winners, which tied her for the team lead with DeSimone.
Sophomores Rori Stark (Brewster/Brewster) and Kelley Murphy (Albany/Colonie Central) have shared time in goal this season for the Red Dragons. Stark has started nine games and Murphy has started 10. Stark has an overall record of 4-1-3 with a 0.62 goals against average and four shutouts. Murphy has a record of 8-3 with a 0.94 goals against and two shutouts.
McGrail concluded, "I know we have a tough road ahead of us but we are playing great team soccer right now and anything can happen. We have talked about making small steps forward each day all year and that is all we can continue to do. The girls are excited and cannot wait for Saturday to come."
Scouting Farmingdale State
The Rams won their seventh consecutive Skyline Conference title last Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 win over Mount Saint Mary College. Freshman Amanda Khare scored both goals in the victory, she is now currently second in scoring on the team with 17 points (8 goals, 1 assist). Sophomore Ashlee Thompson with 15 goals and 5 assists has led the scoring.
Sophomore goalkeeper Breanna Blair holds a 10-6 overall record this season with six shutouts, and was named the Tournament MVP after posting seven saves in the Championship game.
Scouting William Smith
The Herons (17-1-0) earned the Liberty League's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament after winning their seventh straight conference championship. William Smith defeated RIT 1-0 in the championship match.
The victory was the Herons' 17th in a row and their 10th straight shutout. William Smith, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the latest NSCAA Division III Coach's Poll, will be making its 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Scouting Cabrini
The Cavaliers will make their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after topping Rosemont College in Saturday's CSAC championship. Sophomore Devon Miller earned Most Valuable Player honors after netting two goals in the win.
At 12-3-5 overall, the Cavaliers are unbeaten in their last 12 matches, including four straight wins. During the stretch, Cabrini has outscored its opponents 46-6. Junior Melissa Scanzano has led the way with 22 points on eight goals and six assists, while Miller has tallied eight goals and sophomore Kaitlyn Cooper six.
The winner of this weekend's opening round will advance to the sectionals round next weekend where the tournament will be narrowed down to the final four teams. The national championship weekend is scheduled for Friday & Saturday, Dec. 6-7 in San Antonio.
The first game will feature host William Smith from the Liberty League versus Cabrini of the Colonial States Athletic Conference at 11am. Both teams received the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament by virtue of winning their conference championships.
Oneonta has never faced either Farmingdale State or Cabrini, but has previously played William Smith in the regular season and in the NCAA tournament. Oneonta also has a history of travelling to William Smith during the NCAA tournament, but has only faced the Herons twice previously in the tournament.
Oneonta is 0-2 all time against William Smith in the tournament including in 2010, when the Herons knocked the Red Dragons out of the NCAA tournament, 2-1, in the sectional round, which is the round of 16 teams.
"I am very proud of how much this team has grown this season off the field as well as on," said Head Coach Liz McGrail. "They are a great group to work with, striving to be the best they can be and pushing each other to be the best team we can be."
The SUNY Oneonta women's soccer team will be making its 14th NCAA appearance all time in 2013 after winning its 12th SUNYAC title this past weekend versus SUNY Geneseo 4-1. The 12 conference championships are the most for women's soccer in the SUNYAC. This is Oneonta's first NCAA berth since 2010, which marks its last conference championship. Oneonta made a run of 12 straight NCAA tournament berths from 1999-2010.
The women have one national title to its credit, which they won in 2003 against the University of Chicago 2-1. The Red Dragons tied the score in the final minute of the game before ending it two minutes into the first overtime on a goal by Sanada Mujanovic. That championship is the last time the national championship weekend was on a college campus.
Oneonta will enter the tournament with an overall record of 12-4-3 including a record of 9-1-3 since Sep. 27. Oneonta's only loss in the last 13 games was to Ithaca, who also is in the tournament and, who, is in their side of the bracket. The Red Dragons have outscored its opponents 38-15 while holding a decided advantage in shots 246-185. They also hold nearly a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks at 101-51.
"I'm more than excited to play this weekend and continue our season into NCAA's," said senior Amanda Regensburger (Selden/Newfield), who was a freshman in 2010 when Oneonta last played in the NCAA tournament. "We have such a great group of girls and I am grateful to have the privilege to play with them."
Individually, SUNYAC Player of the Year Karly DeSimone (Clifton Park/Shenendehowa) has been a force offensively in the latter part of the season in leading Oneonta into the tournament. She currently has 11 goals and seven assists, which includes three goals scored during the SUNYAC tournament last week, which earned her Tournament MVP honors.
Sophomores Kayla Ceschini (Miller Place/Miller Place) and Jessica Lyden (Burnt Hills/Burnt Hills) have contributed offensively this fall, as both have reached double digits in points with 13 and 11 respectively. Ceschini has scored five goals this season, all of which are game-winners, which tied her for the team lead with DeSimone.
Sophomores Rori Stark (Brewster/Brewster) and Kelley Murphy (Albany/Colonie Central) have shared time in goal this season for the Red Dragons. Stark has started nine games and Murphy has started 10. Stark has an overall record of 4-1-3 with a 0.62 goals against average and four shutouts. Murphy has a record of 8-3 with a 0.94 goals against and two shutouts.
McGrail concluded, "I know we have a tough road ahead of us but we are playing great team soccer right now and anything can happen. We have talked about making small steps forward each day all year and that is all we can continue to do. The girls are excited and cannot wait for Saturday to come."
Scouting Farmingdale State
The Rams won their seventh consecutive Skyline Conference title last Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 win over Mount Saint Mary College. Freshman Amanda Khare scored both goals in the victory, she is now currently second in scoring on the team with 17 points (8 goals, 1 assist). Sophomore Ashlee Thompson with 15 goals and 5 assists has led the scoring.
Sophomore goalkeeper Breanna Blair holds a 10-6 overall record this season with six shutouts, and was named the Tournament MVP after posting seven saves in the Championship game.
Scouting William Smith
The Herons (17-1-0) earned the Liberty League's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament after winning their seventh straight conference championship. William Smith defeated RIT 1-0 in the championship match.
The victory was the Herons' 17th in a row and their 10th straight shutout. William Smith, who is currently ranked No. 3 in the latest NSCAA Division III Coach's Poll, will be making its 24th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Scouting Cabrini
The Cavaliers will make their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after topping Rosemont College in Saturday's CSAC championship. Sophomore Devon Miller earned Most Valuable Player honors after netting two goals in the win.
At 12-3-5 overall, the Cavaliers are unbeaten in their last 12 matches, including four straight wins. During the stretch, Cabrini has outscored its opponents 46-6. Junior Melissa Scanzano has led the way with 22 points on eight goals and six assists, while Miller has tallied eight goals and sophomore Kaitlyn Cooper six.
The winner of this weekend's opening round will advance to the sectionals round next weekend where the tournament will be narrowed down to the final four teams. The national championship weekend is scheduled for Friday & Saturday, Dec. 6-7 in San Antonio.
