ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's soccer team will host the Empire 8 Playoffs this weekend at Carp Wood Field. Both semifinal games will be played on Saturday, with the E8 Championship taking place on Sunday. This marks the second-straight year Ithaca has hosted, and the third time in the past five seasons. The winner of the tournament will earn automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships later this month.
Beginning at 11 a.m., Saturday's first semifinal game will feature top-seeded Ithaca and fourth-seeded St. John Fisher. The second semifinal contest will start at 1:30 p.m., and will feature second-seeded Nazareth and third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology. The winner of both games will face off at 12 p.m. on Sunday at Carp Wood Field.
*Admission each day is $4 for adults and $2 for students, children and senior citizens.
Participants
No. 1 Ithaca (14-2-0, 6-1-0 E8) -
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No. 2 Nazareth (10-6-2, 6-1-0 E8) -
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No. 3 Stevens (10-8-0, 5-2-0) -
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No. 4 St. John Fisher (9-10-0, 4-3-0) -
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First Semifinal Game: Ithaca vs. Fisher | Live Stats | Live Video
The top seeded Bombers come into the playoffs with a 14-2-0 overall record, including a record of 6-1-0 in the Empire 8. They are led offensively by sophomore
Kelsey King, who paces Ithaca with 10 goals and 21 points. The Bombers lead the conference in nearly every defensive category, including save percentage (.932) and fewest goals allowed (5). Ithaca is ranked second in the East Region and has been consistently ranked in the NSCAA top-10.
Fisher rounds out the E8 Tournament participants, coming in as the fourth seed. The Cardinals finished the season with a 9-10-0 overall record, with a mark of 4-3-0 in conference play. Alex Rohloff leads Fisher with nine goals and 20 points, while Chelsea Oberkrieser ranks first with nine assists. Goalkeeper Brooke Seavitt earned a record of a 9-8-0 for Fisher this season, leading the Cardinals in goals-against-average ( 1.00) and save percentage (.811).
In their last meeting, Ithaca lost to St. John Fisher in the final game of the regular season, falling to the Cardinals by a score of 2-1 in double overtime at Carp Wood Field. Freshman
Taylor Baranowsky scored for the Bombers, while sophomore
Beth Coppolecchia made five saves on seven shots.
Second Semifinal Game: Nazareth vs. Stevens | Live Stats | Live Video
Second-seeded Nazareth finished the season with a record of 10-6-2, with a record of 6-1-0 in Empire 8 play. Nazareth has earned at least a share of the Empire 8 Championship nine times since 1999, including a co-championship with Ithaca last season. Olivia Derleth leads the Golden Flyers with eight goals and 17 points, while Kaitlyn Sowyrda paces Nazareth with three assists. Goalkeeper Bethany Novak leads the way between the pipes, going 6-1-0 on the season.
Stevens, the third-seed in the E8 Tournament, finished the year with a record of 10-8-0 overall and a conference record of 5-2-0. Stevens has two conference championships in the last three seasons, winning in 2011 and 2010. Bridgette Barden leads the Ducks with seven goals and 17 points. Raba Nassif paces the Ducks with five assists. Goalkeeper Evelyn Ting leads Stevens with seven wins and a .758 save percentage.
In their last meeting, Olivia Derleth scored two goals for host Nazareth to lead the Golden Flyers to a 2-0 victory over Stevens. Nazareth finished with a commanding 28-4 advantage in total shots, including 13-3 in shots on goal. The Golden Flyers had a 10-3 advantage in corner kick chances. Abbie Carey made two saves in goal to earn her second-consecutive shutout. Stevens' goalkeeper Evelyn Ting finished with 10 saves to prevent Nazareth from pulling away.
Twitter Handles
@Empire8
@BomberSports
@StevensDucks
@NazAthletics
@FisherAthletics
Weekend Program
