Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information
The Westfield State College women's soccer team will play host Ithaca (N.Y.) College in a first round game of the NCAA Division III national tournament on Saturday, Nov. 15.
In the other NCAA Regional game being hosted by Ithaca, Roger Williams
College of Bristol, R.I., will play the University of Rochester. The game times are 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., with Ithaca hosting Westfield in the late-morning matchup. The regional final is scheduled for 1:00 Sunday.
Westfield State received its first-ever NCAA bid with a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater State in the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game.
The Owls are 15-4 overall with 14 victories in their last 15 games. The 15 victories match the school record by the 1997 Westfield State squad, which finished 15-4.
And this season has been a dramatic turnaround from last year, when Westfield State finished 4-12-1 overall and 0-5-1 in the conference.
Westfield and Ithaca have played a common opponent. Ithaca lost to Utica College, 2-1, while Westfield lost to Utica, 2-0, in the Springfield College tournament. The loss dropped the Owls' record to 1-3, but since then the only bump in the road was a 2-0 loss to Worcester State.
While Westfield is making its first venture to the NCAA Tournament, Ithaca College is no stranger to post-season play. The Bombers are making their 19th appearance in the NCAA playoffs; no other school has made more. Ithaca made four trips to the NCAA Final Four from 1988 to 1991 highlighted by consecutive national titles in 1990 and 1991.
Team-wise, the Owls have scored 57 goals (3.0 average) and allowed 19 goals (1.0) average. Sophomore Meg Gearin (Groton, Mass.) is the leading scorer in the balanced attack with 13 goals and 5 assists.
Sophomore Kate MacLellan (Wilbraham) has 9 goals and 11 assists and Jenn Leveille (Southampton) - the team's only senior - has 9 goals and 3 assists. Ali Pease (Ludlow) and Jill Ranney (Southwick) have 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Westfield freshman goalie Jess Pieciak (Three Rivers/Palmer) has allowed 12 goals in 18 games played for a 0.77 goals against average.