Women's Soccer

NESCAC Women’s Soccer Championship Heads to Amherst

HADLEY, Mass. – Amherst will host the NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship for the first time since 2011 as the top four seeds advanced out of the quarterfinals for the third straight tournament. The top-seeded Mammoths will play No. 4 Middlebury at 11 a.m. in the first semifinal on Saturday, November 6 while No. 2 Wesleyan faces No. 3 Hamilton in the other semifinal match. The winners will play for the NESCAC title on Sunday, November 7 at noon.

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2021 NESCAC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, October 30 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinal Games
No. 1 Amherst def. No. 8 Trinity, 2-1 (OT)
No. 2 Wesleyan def. No. 7 Bowdoin, 2-1
No. 3 Hamilton def. No. 6 Tufts, 1-0
No. 4 Middlebury def. No. 5 Connecticut College, 2-1
 
Saturday, November 6 at Amherst
Semifinal Games
No. 4 Middlebury at No. 1 Amherst - 11 a.m.
No. 3 Hamilton vs. No. 2 Wesleyan - 1:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, November 7 at Amherst
Final
Semifinal Winners – 12 p.m.

Amherst (14-1-1) reached the semifinals for the fifth straight tournament with a 2-1 overtime win over No. 8 Trinity. The game was scoreless until the 81st minute when senior Ruby Hastie gave Amherst a 1-0 lead. The Bantams responded a minute later to level the match and force the extra time. Hastie delivered again for the Mammoths, scoring in the 96th minute to keep their season alive. Hastie and first-year teammate Patience Kum have combined for 21 goals to lead the NESCAC. Kum has a team-high 11 markers and 25 points to lead Amherst, while Hastie has tallied 10 goals, including five game-winners, and has 24 points. Sophomore goalkeeper Mika Fisher has started all 16 games and played nearly every minute in net this season. She leads the NESCAC in goals against average (0.53), saves (65), and shutouts (8). Amherst has scored a league-leading 54 goals this season and surrendered eight. The Mammoths, the defending NESCAC Champion, enter the semifinal unbeaten in their last 12 games (11-0-1) and are 9-1 at home this season.

Middlebury (12-3-1) is in the semifinals for the third straight tournament and has played for the past two NESCAC titles. Trailing 1-0 against No. 5 Connecticut College, the Panthers scored in the 56th and 77th minutes to earn a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Fanny Lodge and senior Eliza Van Voorhis are tied with a team-high nine points each. Van Voorhis has four goals while Lodge has scored three times. First-year Sydney Poppinga has started all 12 games she has played and carries a 0.90 goals against average and a .828 save percentage with five shutouts into the semifinals. The Panthers have won six straight, are 6-0-1 in their last seven games, and own a 5-2-0 road record this season.

The Amherst/Middlebury match is a re-match of the 2019 title game that the Mammoths won, 1-0. The two teams also met in the 2018 semifinals and played to a 1-1 draw before the Panthers advanced to the championship game on penalty kicks, 4-3. In the 10 meetings between the teams in the NESCAC Championship, Middlebury owns a slight edge, 5-4-1.

Wesleyan punched its ticket to the NESCAC Semifinals for the first time since 2012 with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over No. 7 Bowdoin. The Polar Bears took a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute, but the Cardinals scored a pair of second-half goals nearly 10 minutes apart to erase the deficit and go on to earn the win. The victory established a new program record for most wins in a season as the Cardinals are 13-1-1 heading into the semifinals. Wesleyan, which earned its highest seed in program history (No.2), is led by junior Grace Devanny's conference-best 27 points (9 goals, 9 assists). Classmate Audrey Lavey has seven markers and 17 points as the Cardinals have one of the top-scoring offenses in the conference (45 goals). Defensively, senior Sarah Hammond has been the team's top goalkeeper. She ranks second in the NESCAC with a 0.55 goals against average and has a .863 save percentage. The Cardinals are 7-0-1 in their last eight games and are unbeaten on the road (7-0-0).

Hamilton registered its second NESCAC postseason victory in program history with a 1-0 victory over No. 6 Tufts. First-year Olivia Zubarik scored in the opening minutes of the second half to break a scoreless tie and the Hamilton defense made the goal stand up the rest of the way. The win marked the Continentals 13th (13-1-2) of the season, the most since 2007. Juniors Hyla Mosher (9 goals, 2 assists) and Rylie Mutton (7 goals, 5 assists) have combined for 16 goals and 39 points this season. Junior Caity Smith has helped anchor a defensive unit that has allowed 10 goals. She owns the third-best goals against average (0.72) in the NESCAC and has made 64 stops with a .877 save percentage. The Continentals, who are 7-1-0 in away games, enter the semifinals having won three straight and nine of their last 10 games.

The semifinal match between Hamilton and Wesleyan will be the first time the teams have met in the NESCAC Tournament and both squads are looking to advance to the championship match for the first time in program history. In 2021, Wesleyan handed Hamilton its first loss of the season with a 3-0 victory on October 23.

Links to live stats and video for all games are available via the NESCAC Scoreboard at NESCAC.com. Results will be posted on NESCAC.com at the end of each day.