CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW | Pacers Vie for AEC Title against Neumann

Marywood has reached every women's soccer final in Atlantic East history

Scranton, Pa. — Marywood University looks to bring the Atlantic East Conference women's soccer title back to the Electric City in Saturday's championship game. Top-seeded Marywood welcomes No. 3 Neumann University at Pacers Turf Field at 1 p.m. The game will be aired on the Atlantic East Network.

The winner of the championship game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.

SCOUTING THE PACERS

Marywood (10-6-2) hosts the Atlantic East championship game for the fourth consecutive season. Prior to the conference's formation in 2018, the Pacers hosted back-to-back championship games in 2016 and 2017. Coach Andrew Smith's squad blanked No. 5 Marymount University 3-0 in the semifinal.

The Pacers scored a pair of goals in the opening 10 minutes from Kate Kollar-Dye and Victoria Tzitzis. Josephine Sorce added extra flavor to the win with a 25-yard blast with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. Rebekah Becker preserved a clean sheet with a majestic second-half save. Riley Mulherin made two assists.

Marywood looks for its fourth conference championship in program history. The Pacers won titles in 2008, 2016, and 2018. Marywood has sights on making its third NCAA Division III tournament appearance and returning for the first time since 2016.

With the win over the Saints, Coach Smith reached double digits for the 13th time in his 23-year career.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS

Neumann (8-8-4) tied and advanced over two-time defending champion and No. 2 seed Cabrini University by a 1-1 score. The Knights prevailed on winning penalty kicks by a 4-2 margin. Liz Purcell scored the Knights' lone goal on their only shot of the game. Riley Adinolfi, Dari Troilo, Rebecca Spence and Caitln Llewellyn went 4-for-4 in penalty kicks. Reserve keeper Lex Navarro made a save on the Cavs' third attempt and their fourth chance sailed wide.

The Knights are making just their second conference final appearance in the 24-year history of the program. Their only other apperance came in 2011 after advancing on PKs against Centenary. Cabrini defeated Neumann 1-0 in the final.

SERIES HISTORY

Marywood holds a 16-5-2 (.750) record over Neumann in their series history. The Knights' last win over the Pacers was on Oct. 24, 2018. Surprisingly, this is the first time the two programs have met in the postseason.

In their previous meeting this season, the Pacers and Knights played to a 1-1 draw in the conference finale. Marywood scored in the 12th minute when Riley Mulherin was fouled in the box by the goalkeeper. Brooke Longstreet converted a penalty kick. Chloe Britton scored Neumann's goal in the 37th on a corner kick chance that found the back post netting.

PLAYERS TO KNOW

Brooke Longstreet, def., Marywood: The graduate student has her eyes set on bookending her storied career with Atlantic East championships. As a freshman center-back, Longstreet guided the Pacers to the inaugural Atlantic East title with a 1-0 win over Immaculata. Longstreet was named the Championship MVP after her 30-yard long ball pinged off the crossbar and found Megan Swiecicki for the game-winner. She scored the lone goal in the Pacers' previous matchup against the Knights this season.

Victoria Tzitzis, fwd., Marywood: Tzitzis penned her 20th career goal in the Atlantic East semifinal. Tzitzis settled a ball from Riley Mulherin and jetted past two defenders before eventually beating the keeper on a 1-v-1 for the goal. In the Atlantic East, she ranks first in total points (25), second in assists (8), and fourth in goals (8).

Kate Kollar-Dye, fwd., Marywood: Kollar-Dye has shown a flair for the dramatics in her senior season. All four of her goals have been of the game-winning variety, ranking her first in the Atlantic East and 44th in NCAA Division III. The Royal Palm Beach, Fla. native scored in the fifth minute of the semifinal win. She had game-winners in decisive one-goal wins over Cabrini and Marymount.

Rebekah Becker, gk., Marywood: Becker returned to the lineup for the first time in 11 days to record her fifth clean sheet. Becker made seven stops including a hard-hit strike at the top of the frame. She has not allowed a goal in the past 432 minutes. On the season, she has a 1.23 GAA and .827 save percentage.

Chloe Britton, mid., Neumann: Britton leads Neumann with six goals on the season. She netted a goal directly on a corner kick in the teams' previous meeting. She ranks 10th in the Atlantic East in goal production per game.

Rebecca Spence, def., Neumann: After being held without a point for the first games of the season, Spence has led the Knights in points from a defensive position. She has 14 points on the season with four goals and six assists. Spence ranks fourth in assists and 12th in points per game in the Atlantic East.

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