Scranton, Pa. — Marywood University women's soccer will not have to leave the Electric City for its NCAA Division III First Round matchup. The Pacers (15-3-2) will travel to crosstown No. 9 University of Scranton (17-1-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Weiss Field. 

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for seniors, students, and children. 

The winner will take on the winner between Wesleyan (Conn.) and SUNY Brockport. The Cardinals and Eagles take on each other at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The second round game is set for Sunday.

The Basics
Marywood at Scranton // Saturday, Nov. 16 // 1 p.m. EST // Weiss Field // Scranton, Pa. 
Watch NCAA Live // Live Stats // Marywood Roster // Scranton Roster // Marywood Schedule // NCAA Program // Bracket

Briefly on the Pacers

• THREE-TIME CHAMPS: Marywood won its third Atlantic East Championship in six seasons. Marywood defeated Marymount 2-0 in a rematch of last year's title game. Maura Kirkpatrick was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player after posting a game-winning goal and an assist. Caroline Walters added an insurance goal. 
• COUNT THEM DUBS: The Pacers' victory over the Saints matched the school record with their 15th win.
• CLEAN SHEETZ: MADE TO ORDER: Marywood set a school record with its 16th shutout of the season in the win over the Saints. Jenna Orr and Genevieve Morrison each have 16 combined shutouts. Morrison named three saves in the win, and Orr stopped one shot. 
• ROLL PACERS: Marywood smashed the school record for defensive scoreless minutes by not allowing a goal for 941 minutes, 39 seconds. The Pacers have tanked the previous record of 610:39 (2021). 
• GET YOUR ERASERS OUT: Marywood is on pace to rewrite a pair of defensive season records. Marywood has allowed just four goals this season — 12 fewer than the standing Fewest Goals Allowed records established during the 2009 and 2010 season. The Pacers defense is set to erase the Goals Against Average mark. Marywood allowed just 0.2 goals per game, well below the 2010 record of 0.69 goals against. 
• FEELING REGAL: Riley Mulherin scored the program's most recent goal versus the Royals in last year's meeting. 
• ELECTRIC CITY DERBY: While the Pacers have never defeated the crosstown Royals in 10 tries, Marywood held a brief lead during the 2015 matchup. Megan Swiecicki scored in the opening minute — just 36 seconds into regulation — on an Amanda Allikmaa assist. The Pacers held onto the lead until Scranton scored the game-tying and -winning goals in the 22nd and 26th minutes, respectively. The Royals and Pacers' closest contest was a 1-0 decision in 2011. Scranton scored the lone goal in the 15th minute from Christina Cognetti, and the Royals could not get another shot past Marywood goalkeeper Emily Osborne, who finished with six saves. Angela Heydt recorded a team save for the Pacers' defense.
• AEC HAULS: Josephine Sorce earned her second Atlantic East Offensive Player of the Year award. Britlyn Higgins earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Carly Walters, Maura Kirkpatrick, Caroline Walters, Riley Mulherin and Jenna Orr joined Sorce and Higgins on the First Team. Faith Meals was the lone Pacer on the Second Team. 
• NEPA BOUND: This marks the second-straight NCAA tournament that the Pacers stayed in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Marywood traveled to Misericordia in the 2022 tournament. 
• NPI RANKINGS: Marywood moved up eight spots to #124 in the latest NPI Rankings. The Pacers are winless in their only game versus a higher-ranked team — a 1-0 loss to #93 Stockton. Marywood is 15-2-2 against teams ranked below them. Its top win was over Marymount (#230).

Scouting the Royals

• Scranton checks out at 17-1-2, having won its past 10 games. The Royals defeated Lycoming College 3-0 to capture its fifth straight Landmark Championship. The Royals have reached eight straight NCAA tournaments. 
• The last time the teams met was on Sept. 6, 2023. The Royals defeated Marywood 4-1 at Pacers Turf Field. Emily Tantala scored twice for the Royals, and Emily Bannon had three assists. Scranton holds a 10-0 record all-time versus the Pacers, dating back to 2011. 
• Three-time defending Landmark Offensive Player of the Year Niamh Healy led the conference in goals (14), points (32) and game-winning goals (8). 
• Aileen Carry garnered Landmark Rookie of the Year honors. 
• Like Marywood, Scranton's defense limited opponents throughout the season. The Royals ranked eighth nationally with a .3 Goals Against Average. 
• In addition to Healy, Scranton had five other players in double figures for points: Mary Haggerty (14), Claire Mulholland (14), Samantha Goffice (11), Morgan Griffin (10), Molly Martys (10).
• Scranton ranked ninth in the most recent NPI rankings. The Royals have not played any of the eight teams ranked higher than them. Scranton's lone loss was a 1-0 setback to #12 New York University. The Royals have tied #13 Misericordia and #35 Vassar. Their highest ranked win was versus #41 New Paltz. 

More on the NCAA Tournament

• Marywood is 0-2-1 in its three previous NCAA tournament appearances. In 2008, the Pacers tied Washington & Jefferson College 1-1 before falling 5-4 in penalty kicks. Marywood fell 7-0 to #5 TCNJ in the 2016 tournament. The Pacers were shut out 6-0 to top-ranked Misericordia in their last appearance in 2022. 
• Marywood won the Atlantic East championship in 2018, 2022 and 2024.
• The Pacers' lone NCAA goal came from Kaitlyn Miller in the 83rd minute of the 2008 First Round game. Miller rebounded a shot off a Leslie Higham header to force overtime. The Pacers have been held scoreless for 217 minutes of NCAA play.
• Scranton looks for its first NCAA win since the 2022 season. The Royals made it through their regional after advancing in PKs over Bowdoin and shutting out Westfield State. Scranton lost to Misericordia in the Sweet 16. 
• The Royals were eliminated by McDaniel 1-0 in the 2023 First Round. 
• Scranton holds a 12-17-7 overall record in the NCAA Tournament. It has made the quarterfinals during the 2001 and 2003 seasons under legendary former coach Joe Bochicchio.
• Coach Rich Owens is 0-1-2 all-time in NCAA tournament history. Owens took West Virginia Wesleyan to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament in 2018. The Cats advanced with ties over Kutztown and West Chester.

Marywood's record when…
At home: 9-0-2
On the road: 7-3
In overtime: 0-0
Outshooting its opponents: 15-2-2
Out-cornering its opponents: 14-2-1
Against higher NPI opponents: 0-1
Against lower NPI opponents: 15-2-2
Scoring the first goal: 15-0-1
When opponent scores first goal: 0-3
On Saturday: 5-2-1

Numbers to Know
125: Josephine Sorce became the fifth person to join the Marywood 100 Point Club earlier this season. She ranks second all-time with 125 career points. Sorce is first with 49 assists and fifth with 38 goals.
14: Sorce is tied for fourth in single-season assists with 14. Her 17 helpers last season ranked first in NCAA Division III and second all-time at Marywood.
1st: Sorce leads All Active Division III players in total assists. She is fourth in Assists Per Game. 
5: Marywood has top-15 national rankings in six stat categories: goals-against average (2nd, .2); save percentage (3rd, .923); shots per game (12th, 22.65); shots on goal per game (9th, 11.8); shutout percentage (6th, 0.8); corner kicks per game (15th, 7.3).
118: Riley Mulherin became the sixth player to join the Marywood 100 Point Club earlier this season. She ranks fourth all-time with 118 career points. Mulherin is second all-time in career goals.
.672: Mulherin is ranked 27th in Division III in shot accuracy. She has found the target on 67.2 percent of her shots. 
1st: Freshman goalkeeper Jenna Orr leads the NCAA Division III statistical championship race in both goals-against average (.1) and save percentage (.957). Orr has allowed just one goal this season. She surpassed No. 4 Loras' Kyndal Kells to take the lead over championship weekend.
12: Twelve different Pacers have goals and assists this season. Together, 16 Pacers have registered a point. 
3: Freshman goalkeeper Genevieve Morrison has allowed just three goals this season. She has not allowed a goal in 14 consecutive games.