Women's Soccer Travels to Misericordia in NCAA Tourney

Scranton, Pa. — Marywood University will compete in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament for the third time in program history on Saturday afternoon. The Pacers head to nearby Misericordia University take on the top-ranked Cougars at 5 p.m.

GAME NOTES VS. MISERICORDIA

AEC CHAMPS: Marywood won its second Atlantic East Conference championship with a 1-0 victory over Neumann. The Pacers return to the Atlantic East championship to the Electric City for the first time since winning the inaugural title in 2018. Caroline Walters scored the game-winning goal from a Victoria Tzitzis assist in the 83rd minute. Rebekah Becker made two saves for the clean sheet.

ANOTHER WINNING SEASON: Head Coach Andrew Smith had double-digit wins for the 13th time in his 23-year career. Smith has a career record of 224-164-29 (.572 winning percentage). Entering this season, he is tied for 48th in active winningest coaches in NCAA Division III.

BECKER'S SCORELESS STREAK: Goalkeeper Rebekah Becker has not allowed a goal in 522 minutes, 29 seconds. It is the second time in her career that she has had a 500-plus consecutive scoreless minutes streak. It is currently the fourth longest in school history. Becker holds the school record at 547 minutes, 14 seconds, set in 2021.

MS. CLUTCH: All four of Kate Kollar-Dye's goals have been of the game-winning variety. During the regular season, her game-winning goals enabled the Pacers to capture their third straight No. 1 seed in the playoffs. She found the net late twice in one-goal victories over defending champion Cabrini and Marymount. Kollar-Dye scored the first tally in the Pacers' 3-0 win over Marymount in the Atlantic East semifinals. She was selected the Atlantic East Tournament Most Valuable Player.

#TWINNING: Identical twin sisters Carly and Caroline Walters combined for 12 goals and three assists in their first year. Carly Walters has a team-high nine goals, and Caroline Walters' goal won the Atlantic East.

AEC SCORING LEADERS: Josephine Sorce and Victoria Tzitzis tied for the conference lead with 25 points. Sorce leads the conference with 11 assists.

TOP FORM: Despite missing a full month of the season with an injury, Riley Mulherin came back to the lineup to lead the Atlantic East in goals (5), assists (4), and points (14). Despite the lost time, she ranked among conference leaders in every offensive category: third in assists (7), fourth in points (21), and fifth in goals (7). Her cross started the game-winning goal in the conference championship.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Carly Walters was selected the Atlantic East Conference's Rookie of the Year. Walters led the Atlantic East during the regular season with nine goals.

ELITE EIGHT: Eight of the Pacers' starting XI were selected to All-Atlantic East teams, including seven on the First Team. On the First Team, six second-time winners Brooke Longstreet, Mackenzie Bennett, Victoria Tzitzis, Riley Mulherin, Josephine Sorce and Rebekah Becker joined first-year recipient Carly Walters. Freshman Sarah Kretchmer was the lone Pacer on the Second Team.

SORCERER'S STONE: Josephine Sorce was the 2021 Atlantic East Offensive Player of the Year. She was also named United Soccer Coaches All-Region V Third Team selection.

PACERS NEVER STOP: Marywood averaged a 3.5 GPA heading into the fall semester. Emily Welsh was selected the Atlantic East's Elite 20 Winner for highest GPA in the championship game.

EIGHT IN A ROW: After falling to 1-5-1 on Sept. 24, Marywood won eight consecutive games and went nine straight without a loss to turn around its season.

DEFENDERS TOUCH: Brooke Longstreet has five goals and two assists for 12 points as a defender.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: In NCAA Division III, Josephine Sorce ranked 13th in total assists (11) and 17th in assists per game (.58). Victoria Tzitzis ranks 35th in total assists (9) and 44th in assists per game (.5). Kate Kollar-Dye ranks 49th with four game-winning goals. As a team, Marywood ranked 29th in total assists.

ACTIVE CAREER RANKINGS: Among active NCAA Division III players, Becker ranks 47th with a .98 career goals-against average.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MISERICORDIA: Marywood has a 2-11-1 record against former Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) rival. The Cougars won the last meeting 6-0 in 2013. Marywood defeated Misericordia 1-0 in 2007, 3-1 in 2009, and tied 2-2 in 2010.

ATLANTIC EAST RECORDS: Josephine Sorce's 11 assists ranks second all-time in the AEC's brief history. She and Victoria Tzitzis rank eighth in conference history in points. Kate Kollar-Dye ranks third in game-winning goals. Rebekah Becker ranks third goals-against average.

SEASON SUMMARY 11-6-2/5-0-1

Marywood opened the season with a 7-0 victory over Keystone. Carly Walters scored a hat trick in her first collegiate game. A pair of late goals gave Marywood a 3-1 loss to Swarthmore after Victoria Tzitzis scored on a long ball from the keeper Rebekah Becker to take an early lead. After falling 6-0 to No. 10 Scranton, Marywood earned a 1-1 draw at Eastern on a Tzitzis tally. A three-game losing streak ensued with letdowns to No. 23 Franklin & Marshall (7-0), FDU-Florham (2-1) and Kean (3-1). The setback to the Cougars dropped Marywood's record to 1-5-1 on Sept. 24.

The Pacers responded with eight consecutive victories over a 29-day span. Gillian Way's lone goal of the season put Marywood on top of Alvernia by a 3-2 score to snap the six-game winless streak. Three unanswered goals from Brooke Longstreet, Carly Walters and Josephine Sorce overcame a second-minute Wilkes goal. The 3-1 win over the Colonels was their first since 2002. On Senior Day, Shawna Hauck had a pair of assists and six Pacers scored to lead a 7-0 win over Cazenovia. For the second time in four days, Marywood walked away with a 7-0 victory to bounce Cazenovia in the conference opener. Kate Kollar-Dye's heroic goal gave Marywood a decisive 2-1 win over rival Cabrini. After downing Gwynedd Mercy by another 7-0 scoreline, Kollar-Dye netted another late game-winner on a similarly designed pass from Riley Mulherin. Marywood capped its winning streak with a 4-0 win behind Josephine Sorce's four-point effort.

Marywood drew Neumann 1-1 in its Atlantic East finale after goalkeeper Rebekah Becker went down with an injury in the early minutes. The tie punched the No. 1 seed in the AEC playoffs for the third straight year. Without Becker, Marywood lost 6-1 to Penn College.

In the Atlantic East playoffs, the Pacers opened with a 3-0 win over Marymount as Becker returned to the lineup to make seven saves. Caroline Walters kicked the championship-clinching goal in a 1-0 victory over Neumann.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY (0-1-1)
2008: Marywood 1, Washington & Jefferson 1 (W&J Advances on PKs, 5-4)
2016: TCNJ 7, Marywood 0

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Players Mentioned

#1 Rebekah Becker: GK; 5' 6"; Junior

#4 Mackenzie Bennett: D; 5' 4"; Senior

#13 Shawna Hauck: M/F; 5' 5"; Junior

#17 Kate Kollar-Dye: F; 5' 6"; Senior

#21 Brooke Longstreet: D; 5' 8"; Graduate Student

#30 Riley Mulherin: F; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#11 Josephine Sorce: M; 5' 4"; Junior

#19 Victoria Tzitzis: F; 5' 5"; Junior

#16 Gillian Way: D/F; 5' 2"; Sophomore

#28 Emily Welsh: M; 5' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#1 Rebekah Becker
: 5' 6"; Junior
: GK

#4 Mackenzie Bennett
: 5' 4"; Senior
: D

#13 Shawna Hauck
: 5' 5"; Junior
: M/F

#17 Kate Kollar-Dye
: 5' 6"; Senior
: F

#21 Brooke Longstreet
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student
: D

#30 Riley Mulherin
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: F

#11 Josephine Sorce
: 5' 4"; Junior
: M

#19 Victoria Tzitzis
: 5' 5"; Junior
: F

#16 Gillian Way
: 5' 2"; Sophomore
: D/F

#28 Emily Welsh
: 5' 0"; Sophomore
: M

Marywood University Pacers

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned