For the first time in school history, Albertus Magnus College will play host to the Women's Soccer Division III ECAC New England Tournament. The ECAC Tournament event kicks off on Saturday morning when the fifth-seeded Falcons take on top-seeded Roger Williams University in an 11:00 a.m. contest. No. 3 Wheaton College (Mass.) and No. 7 Castleton State will face off at 2:00 p.m. on Albertus Magnus College's Celentano Field.
Albertus and Roger Williams will meet for the first time in program history on Saturday.
The Falcons head into the weekend with a 13-4-3 overall record after defeating fourth-seeded Framingham State on Wednesday 4-3 in the ECAC Tournament quarterfinal round. Albertus is led by senior Amanda Roke (Cheshire, Conn.) this season as she has registered 32 points on 12 goals and eight assists. Shelley Mirmina (Milford, Conn.) has tallied 24 points on seven goals and 10 assists.
Maria Case (West Haven, Conn.) has been solid in goal as she has tallied 116 saves in 20 games. She has allowed 15 goals on the year and has registered a program single-season record nine shutouts this season.
Roger Williams is 18-2-3 on the year after finishing the regular-season with a 7-1-1 record in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC). During the CCC Tournament, the Hawks tied Gordon College 2-2 but fell 3-1 in a shootout to be eliminated from the league tournament. The Hawks opened the ECAC Tournament against No. 8 Elms and shutout Elms 5-0 to advance to the semifinal round.
RWU is led by Katie Lydon with 35 points on 14 goals and seven assists, while Mariah Kaiser tallied 31 points on 12 goals and seven assists. Stephanie Jaques has allowed 18 goals all season and has a 0.75 goals allowed average. She also has picked up 64 saves along with 10 shutouts.
In the 2:00 p.m. match-up, third-seeded Wheaton College will take on No. 7 Castleton State after the Lyons of Wheaton defeated Eastern Nazerene 3-2 (2OT) in the opening round of the ECAC Tournament. Wheaton is 15-6-2 on the year and finished the regular season with an 8-1-1 record in the NEWMAC. The Lyons lost to Springfield 2-1 in the semifinals of the NEWMAC tournament.
Wheaton is led by Gabriella Verde with 23 points on nine goals and five assists. Kristina Braga has registered a team-high 10 goals to go along with two assists for 22 points. Goalkeeper duties have been split among the teams' three goalkeepers. Lauren Thacker, Taylor Wilson and Ali Hinton have all spent time in between the pipes this season.
Castleton State is 13-8-2 on the year and upset second-seeded Brandeis on the road by winning 5-4 in a shootout after two scoreless overtime periods. The Spartans finished the regular season 7-1-1 in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) and then lost to Colby Sawyer 1-0 in the NAC Final. The Spartans are led by Mallory Costello with 48 points on 19 goals and 10 assists, while Dominique Valancius has tallied 40 points on 16 goals and eight assists. In goal for Castleton State has been freshman Jessica Binkowski as she has recorded 91 saves, a 13-8-2 overall record, and three shutouts. She has also allowed 27 goals this season.
Admission is free for the weekend's events. Parking near the field is limited but all lots on the Albertus Magnus College campus are open. Parking is also allowed on Prospect Street. Live game stats will be available at www.AlbertusFalcons.com, while fans can also follow the games on Twitter by following @AMCAthletics for in-game and postgame updates.
This weekend's schedule can be found below:
Saturday, November 16, 2013
No. 1 Roger Williams vs. No. 5 Albertus Magnus 11:00 a.m.
No. 3 Wheaton vs. No. 7 Castleton State 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Saturday's Winners in Championship Game 12:30 p.m.
