Women's Soccer 11/3/2023 1:31:00 PM

Women's Soccer Saddled Up for Fifth-Straight Atlantic East Final Saturday

Marywood is looking for its first back-to-back title in program history

Scranton, Pa. — Marywood University will host its fifth straight Atlantic East Conference women's soccer championship game on Saturday. The top-seeded Pacers will welcome No. 2 Marymount University at 1 p.m. on the Turf Field Complex.

The victor will receive an automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships beginning next weekend.

The Pacers have won conference championships in 2008, 2016, 2018 and 2022. They are seeking their fourth NCAA Tournament Appearance. Including its time as a Colonial States Athletic Conference member, Marywood has hosted seven consecutive conference championship games.

It is the first conference championship game appearance in Saints' history.

GAME NOTES VS. MARYMOUNT

SERIES HISTORY VS. MARYMOUNT: Marywood hosts a 6-2 record (.750) all-time vs. the Saints. The Pacers and Saints played once in 2002 before becoming Atlantic East members. After winning their first bout as conference opponents, Marywood won five consecutive games against the Saints. Marymount ended the streak this year with a 2-0 win over the Pacers in their regular season matchup in Arlington, Va. Marywood holds a perfect 2-0 record over the Saints in postseason appearances. The Pacers defeated the Saints 4-2 on a cold and wet first round game in 2018 with three-point performances from Julie Youngman and Becca Dolgas. Last year, the two teams met in the semifinals. Bekah Becker made seven saves for a shutout. Marywood scored twice with a double-assisted Kate Kollar-Dye score and a Victoria Tzitzis goal in the opening 10 minutes. Josephine Sorce scored off a corner kick with 17 seconds remaining.

LAST TIME OUT: Marymount ended its losing streak to the Pacers on Oct. 21 in Northern Virginia. Minnie Morris scored the Saints' first goal against the Pacers in 423 minutes. She scored a double-assisted tally from Daniela Carillo-Torres and Laney Placido in the 53rd minute. Placido nailed a penalty kick goal in the 84th minute. Both teams had 10 shots and five shots on target.

FOURTH TIME IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: Marywood holds the top seed in the Atlantic East Conference playoffs for the fourth straight time. The Pacers are 1-1-1 as the No. 1 seed in Atlantic East title games. Marywood won the Atlantic East title in the lone season that it did not hold the top seed.

DEFENDING CHAMPS: Marywood looks for its first repeat championship in program history. The Pacers previously won the Atlantic East championship in 2018 and 2022. Marywood won Colonial States Athletic Conference titles in 2008 and 2016. Marywood has sights on making its fourth NCAA Division III tournament appearance.

HOW THEY ARRIVED HERE: Both Marywood and Marymount finished with first-round byes.

Marywood (9-6-2) romped No. 6 Gwynedd Mercy 7-0 in the Atlantic East semifinal. Josephine Sorce tallied two goals and four assists for eight points. Riley Mulherin added to her conference-best total with two goals and an assist. Hailey Dwyer finished with the first points of her career, tallying a goal and an assist. Kate Kollar-Dye kicked off the scoring for the second-straight Atlantic East semifinal with a 17th minute goal. Mila Elash made two saves for her fourth clean sheet.

Marymount (6-9-5) reached the first conference title in school history with a 2-0 win over Neumann. In the 23rd minute, substitute Allina Mbuko punched a ball to Breanna Harkins whose light touch put the Saints ahead. Minnie Morris executed a Laney Placido corner kick for the second goal. Hannah Mockenhaupt made one save for her seven shutout of the season.

CITE YOUR SORCES: With an eight-point effort in the Pacers' Atlantic East semifinal win over Gwynedd Mercy, Josephine Sorce moved into the national lead for total assists (17) and assists per game (1). Among active career leaders, Sorce ranks third in Division III and sixth in NCAA with 35 assists. For assists per game, she is third and fifth respectively with .59 assists per game.

THE LIFE OF RILEY: In the most recent installment of NCAA Division III rankings, Riley Mulherin ranks 10th in total goals (21) and 13th in total points (46). Additionally, she is 10th in goals per game (1.24) and 11th in points per game (2.71). Among active NCAA Division III career leaders, she is 23rd with 1.87 points per game and 38th with 35 goals.

DON'T BLINK:

ATLANTIC EAST RECORD BREAKERS: Marywood broke the Atlantic East's individual single-season records in all three scoring categories in 2023. Josephine Sorce broke the assists record with her 17th of the season. Riley Mulherin owns the goals (21) and points (46) records.

SCOUTING THE PACERS: Marywood opened the season with a difficult non-conference schedule. After dropping the first two games to Swarthmore and No. 16 Scranton, Marywood posted a 3-0 decision over Eastern to get into the win column. A pair of losses to Franklin & Marshall and FDU-Florham set up a 2-2 tie against Kean and a 4-2 win over Alvernia. A one-goal setback to Wilkes was the last loss the Pacers suffered in a 24-day span, closing up a non-conference slate with back-to-back wins over Lancaster Bible and SUNY Canton. Marywood's six-game undefeated streak (5-0-1) and an 18-game Atlantic East unbeaten streak came to a halt in a 2-0 loss to Marymount on the road. Marywood capped its regular season with a 7-0 shutout of Immaculata. The Pacers have six clean sheets on the season. Since losing to Marymount, Marywood has outscored opponents 14-0 in two games.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS: Marymount kicked it into first gear against Atlantic East competition after going just 1-8-3 in its non-conference slate. The Saints opened the year with back-to-back 3-0 losses to Shenandoah and Mary Washington. Marymount found the net for the first time in a 1-1 draw at Goucher. Following a close 1-0 loss to Stevenson, the Saints captured their first win of the season against first-year program Notre Dame (Md.), enjoying goals from four separate players. Marymount ran into a pair of Landmark opponents in 3-0 loss to Catholic and Lycoming. Its stay in Williamsport was illuminated by a scoreless draw against Penn College. They headed south in a 2-1 loss at Hood and a setback against Division I Navy. They ramped up for conference season another scoreless draw against Washington (Md.) and a 2-0 loss to Salisbury. After ousting Immaculata 1-0, Marymount suffered a 2-0 loss to Cabrini and a 1-1 draw against Gwynedd Mercy. Since the loss to the Cavaliers, the Saints are riding a six-game unbeaten streak that includes a 2-0 win at Mary Baldwin. Its last two games have been against Neumann with its third scoreless draw in the regular season finale.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Josephine Sorce, jr., mid.: Sorce currentl leads NCAA Division III in both assists and assists per game. She leads The College of New Jersey's Emma Pascarella by .12 assists per game, and she is ahead of Pascarella, Old Westbury's Mia Almonte and Augsburg's Jayla Ponce by three assists. Sorce is one of 13 Division III players with at least four assists in one game this season. The reigning Atlantic East Player of the Week, Sorce broke the Marywood career assists record with a three-assist performance versus Immaculata. Her 35 career assists surpass Julie Youngman (2015-18) and Rebecca Grubb (2001-02). Sorce has eight goals, 17 assists and 33 points. She had four assists and two goals in the Pacers' semifinal win.

Riley Mulherin, jr., fwd.: Mulherin led the Atlantic East with 21 goals on the season — tied for the third-best in program history. In NCAA Division III, Mulherin ranks 10th in total goals and 13th in total points. She scored two goals and an assist in the Pacers' win over Gwynedd Mercy in the semifinals

Kate Kollar-Dye, grad., fwd.: The fifth-year player produced a pair of assists in a 10-second span in the Pacers' regular season win over Immaculata. With two goals and five assists on the season, Kollar-Dye has proved to be a playmaker in big moments throughout her career. Kollar-Dye was selected the Atlantic East Tournament Most Valuable Player in last season's championship run. Kollar-Dye has the game-winning goal in consecutive Atlantic East semifinals, scoring the first of seven goals in the Pacers' win over the Griffins.

Hailey Dwyer, jr., def.: After never registering a point in 33 career games, the junior defender slotted three points in the Pacers' semifinal win over the Grffins. Dwyer scored her first career goal, assist and point. She assisted Riley Mulherin's 19th minute goal and found the back of the net in the 87th minute.

Laney Placido, grad., fwd.: Placido leads the Saints in assists and scoring with two goals, three assists and seven points. One of her goals came on a penalty kick opportunity in the Saints' 2-0 win over Marywood in October. Placido finished that game with three points.

Minnie Morris, fy., mid.: Morris scored her first career goal as the eventual game-winner against the Pacers. Her second goal came in the Saints' 2-0 win over Neumann in the Atlantic East semifinals.

Hannah Mockenhaupt, jr., gk: Mockenhaupt won the starting netminder role in October. Since then, she sports a 5-2-3 record with seven shutouts in 11 starts. She has a .893 save percentage and allows a .56 goals-against average.

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Players Mentioned

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

#15 Hailey Dwyer: D/F; 5' 6"; Junior

#33 Mila Elash: GK; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#17 Kate Kollar-Dye: M/F; 5' 6"; Graduate Student

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#15 Hailey Dwyer
: 5' 6"; Junior
: D/F

#33 Mila Elash
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: GK

#17 Kate Kollar-Dye
: 5' 6"; Graduate Student
: M/F

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

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

Marywood University Pacers

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned