Preview: Women's Soccer Opens NCAA Tournament Run With Nazareth

ON THE WEB

Worcester State will take on #15 Nazareth at 11 AM on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament. The contest will feature live Video and Live Stats.

THE LANCERS

Worcester State checks into the tournament with an overall record of 14-3-1 as they make their first NCAA appearance since 2010. This past Sunday, the Lancers captured their sixth MASCAC Tournament Championship and the conference automatic bid to the NCAAs.

Junior Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, MA) lhas propelled the Blue and Gold as she has set new program standards with 18 goals and 42 points. Macomber is one of four in New England with seven match cliniching tallies.

Sophomore Kendal Bergenholtz (N. Grafton, MA) and senior Kaleigh Evans (Saugus, MA) have combined for nine goals while senior Shelby Archer (Dayville, CT) has dished out five assists to go with three tallies.

The Lancers have yielded the fewest goals in the conference (16) as junior net minder Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, MA) is second in the MASCAC with a 0.94 goals against average and a .837 save percentage.

THE GOLDEN FLYERS

Nazereth (14-3-3) shared the Empire 8 regular season title and tournament crown with Ithaca. This past weekend, the Golden Flyers and the Bombers tied in a scoreless draw in the Empire 8 championship game, but Nazereth earned the conference automatic bid with a 4-3 win in penalty kicks.

Nazereth is ranked 15th in this week's Continental Tire National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA) National Division III Top 25 poll.

Graduate student Christine Belding (Rochester, NY) and sophomore Michaela Soules (Camden, NY) tie for the lead in points with 21 points as Belding has nine goals and three helpers to her credit. Soules also has five markers on the campaign and she tops the conference with 11 assists.

Junior Briana Vibard (Shelburne, NY) has also notched seven goals and chipped in with three dishes.

Backstopping the Golden Flyers is sophomore Allison Dobles (Spencerport, NY) who has a sparkling 0.50 goals against average, which is 21st in Division III, with 69 saves, seven shutouts and a .896 save percentage while allowing just eight goals to cross between the pipes this season.

EXTRAS

Macomber is currently fourth on WSU's all-time scoring list (74 points) and in career goals (31) while Archer has moved into a tie for fourth on the all-time assist list.

Among postseason scorers, Macomber is in fourth place with four markers in the postseason, including three during the MASCAC Tournament. The top five are listed in the chart below.

Worcester State has an all-time record of 3-4-1 in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the "Sweet 16" round during the 2007 campaign.

Nazereth earned their eighth NCAA Tournament berth as they carry an all-time mark of 6-8 into the national playoffs with their last appearance in 2008.

THE REST OF THE REGIONAL

New York University (11-5-2) will play Amherst (11-5) in the 1:30 contest. The two winners on Saturday will face off for a chance to earn a berth to the regional sectionals at 1 PM on Sunday.

NYU is paced by senior Cami Crawford (El Dorado Hills, CA) who has 21 points to her credit with 10 goals - four for game-winners - while junior Lexi Clarke (Round Hill, VA) has registered a squad-best seven assists. The Violets earned an at-large berth to the NCAAs, finshing in third in the University Athletics Association standings at 3-2-2.

Amherst, who fell in the NESCAC quarterfinals to Middlebury, is led by freshman Hanna Guzzi's (Southboro, MA) nine goals as junior Rachel Abernathy (San Diego, CA) has six tallies to her credit on the season.

Junior Holly Burwick (New Canaan, CT) has permitted just nine markers to come across the goal line and she has blanked nine opponents in 2014.