Rams to Face Defending National Champions in First Round of NCAA's
Messiah College (First/Second Round Host site) - Grantham, Penn. - Saturday, Nov. 14th
Farmingdale State vs. Messiah - 5:00 p.m.
SUNY Geneseo vs. Endicott - 7:30 p.m.
Farmingdale, N.Y. - The Division III Women's Soccer Tournament bracket has been released and Farmingdale State has drawn the defending National Champions, Messiah College, in a first round game this weekend. The Rams will travel to Grantham, Pennsylvania to play on Saturday, November 14th at 5:00 p.m. against the Falcons, followed by a match-up between Geneseo and Endicott at 7:30 p.m. The winners of each game will advance to a second round game on Sunday, November 15th at 6:00 p.m.
Farmingdale finished the season with a 15-4-3 record and captured their third consecutive Skyline Conference Championship. The Rams defeated Bard, 1-0, to receive the Skyline's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Farmingdale State, a team with 21 freshmen, finished the season undefeated in Conference play, holding a Skyline best 8-0-1 record. Freshman forward Jamie Smith (Holtsville, N.Y.), who scored the game-winning goal in the Championship game, led the Rams with 11 goals this season. Sophomore forward Katrina Cerverizzo (Cernter Moriches, N.Y.) was second on team with nine goals, while freshman forward Christina Merrill (Levittown, N.Y.) scored seven goals and had a team-high 10 assists. Freshmen Carly Schneider (Merrick, N.Y.), Melissa Elie (Brentwood, N.Y.), Corine Magee (Mastic Beach, N.Y.) and Skyline Tournament Most Valuable Player Taylor Horgan (Long Beach, N.Y.) each had six goals on the year. Freshman goalkeeper Maggie Studsrud (Staten Island, N.Y.) was undefeated in the net, holding a 7-0-2 record with five shutouts. Studsrud allowed two goals and held an incredible 0.22 goals against average this season. Freshman Stacey Rao (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) started eight games in goal, holding a 0.87 GAA with five shutouts.
Messiah College, the 2008 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer National Champions, will enter the Tournament with a 19-0-1 record. The Falcons were the 2007 Runner-ups in the NCAA Tournament, falling 1-0 to Wheaton (Ill.). Messiah received an automatic bid to the Tournament after defeating Arcadia University, 4-0, to win their third straight Commonwealth Conference Championship.
For more information about Messiah College, click below:
For the complete Tournament bracket, click here:
NCAA Division III National Championship Women's Soccer Bracket
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