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Posted: Nov 16, 2015

Women’s Soccer to Host NCAA Sectional for Third Time

Women’s Soccer to Host NCAA Sectional for Third Time

(INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.) - The Carnegie Mellon University women's soccer team advanced to the sectional of the 2015 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship following its 1-0 overtime victory against SUNY Oneonta at home on Sunday, November 15 in the second round. The fifth-ranked Tartans have been selected to host the sectional which will begin on Friday, November 20 and conclude on Saturday, November 21.

The Tartans welcome 20th-ranked Calvin College (20-2-2), ninth-ranked Centre College (19-1-1), and eighth-ranked Thomas More College (19-0-2) to Pittsburgh.

Carnegie Mellon and Calvin will open the action on Friday at 11:00 a.m. with Centre and Thomas More kicking off at 1:30 p.m. The Tartans will play the Knights for the first time in school history while Centre and Thomas More match up for the fourth time since 2004 with Thomas More holding a 2-1 edge.

The Tartans are making their third appearance in the national quarterfinals after receiving the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 2012. This also marks the third time the Tartans will be playing at home in the quarterfinals, as they own a 7-0-2 mark on home turf in the tournament and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2012. The offense has scored 47 goals with sophomore Sienna Stritter leading with six. Three players have scored five times while three others have recorded four goals. Junior Katie Liston is fifth in the nation in goals against average (GAA) with an average of 0.24 after surrendering three goals in 12 games played. She's collected nine shutouts for the season and has a record of 11-1-0.

Calvin earned entrance to the tournament by winning the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). They defeated Milwaukee School of Engineering, 3-2, in the first round and topped DePauw University, 1-0, in the second round. The Knights are in the tournament for the 11th time in school history, with an all-time record of 11-6-5, and are in the quarterfinals for the third time. Senior Paige Capel leads the offense, which has scored 53 goals, with 18 goals and seven assists. Senior keeper Holly Ellerbroek owns a 20-2-2 record in net with 11 shutouts. Opponents have scored 15 times against the Division II transfer who has a 0.63 goals against average.

Centre is in the tournament for the sixth time, fifth straight, and earned the bid by being crowned champions of the Southern Athletic Association (SAA). Last weekend, the Colonels defeated Penn State Behrend, 3-1, and Capital University, 4-0, to advance to the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. The offense has put in 64 goals and is led by junior Destinie Graves who has 23 goals and nine assists. Junior Olivia Alford has a 15-1-0 record in goal for the Colonels with six goals against and a 0.50 GAA. She splits time with senior Holly Hilton who has also surrendered six goals and has a GAA of 0.65.

Thomas More returns to Pittsburgh for the second straight year for the quarterfinals. They'll arrive after defeating Piedmont College, 5-1, and the University of Chicago, 1-0, on their home field last weekend. The Saints have been to the tournament six times, have advanced to the quarterfinals the last three years and dropped their Elite Eight game last season. The Saints have scored 77 goals this year with senior Olivia Huber tallying 26 and sophomore Julia Flagge-Echols scoring 24. Defensively, the Saints are third in the nation in goals against average (0.14), giving up just three goals this season, with junior Megan Barton earning 14 of the team's 18 shutouts.

The winners of each game will play on Saturday, November 21 at 1:00 p.m. with the sectional final winner advancing to the national semifinal at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 4.

Other NCAA Tournament notes include:

  • 9 of top-10 ranked teams remain in bracket
  • 11 of top-15 ranked teams remain in bracket
  • 15 of 16 teams remaining are ranked in NSCAA Top-25 Poll (Hardin-Simmons – receiving votes, is only one not ranked)
  • 4 of the top-5 ranked teams are hosting Sectional play (1, 3, 4, 5)