Women's Soccer To Face Curry In ECAC Tournament

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

ECAC Division III New England Championship Bracket

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College women's soccer team has been selected to the field of eight teams competing for the 2015 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Championship, announced by the conference office Monday evening. The Blazers received the third-seed and will face the sixth-seeded Curry College Colonels in the quarterfinals Wednesday at Leary Field at 6:00 p.m.

The Blazers set a program-record for wins with a 16-4-1 record entering the ECAC tournament. Elms is coming off a hard-fought 1-0 loss at Lesley University in the New England Collegiate Conference Championship game last Saturday. As a team, the Blazers racked up 50 goals, averaging 2.4 goals per game on 17 shots per game. Elms is 12-0 at Leary Field this season, including the program's first undefeated regular season on Leary Field.

Four Blazers claimed All-Conference status, including sophomore Brie Voight (Springfield, Mass.), who led the Blazers in points (35) and goals (16). Voight, a 2015 First Team selection, had the second-most points and second-most goals in a single season in program history. Senior Michelle Rossignol (Manchester, Conn.) and junior Kathleen Tuechler (Farmingdale, N.Y.) joined Voight on the First Team, while sophomore Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) was voted to the Second Team. Rossignol tallied 22 points with nine goals and four assists with a team-high five game-winning goals. Soucia set a single-season program record with 11 assists, while adding three goals for a career-high 17 points.

The Colonels posted a 13-6-1 overall record with a 3-5-1 mark in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), earning the seven-seed in the CCC Tournament. Curry suffered a 4-0 defeat at Wentworth in the CCC quarterfinals, dropping the Colonels road record to 6-5 on the season.

Offensively, the Colonels are paced by junior Kaitlyn Lima (New Bedford, Mass.), who registered team-high in points (32), goals (13), and assists (6). Sophomore Karina Tsonis (Dartmouth, Mass.) has added 24 points on 11 goals and two assists, while sophomore Cassandra Grasso (Wilmington, Mass.) has notched five goals and an assist. Junior goalkeeper Morgan Stott (Dartmouth, Mass.) owns a 0.93 goals against average with a 89.3 save percentage, 117 saves and seven shutouts.

This will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. The squads had four common opponents during the 2015 season in Clark, Western New England, Rhode Island College, and Newbury. Against Clark, the Blazers won, 1-0, while the Colonels defeat the Cougars, 3-1. Against Western New England, Elms won 1-0 in overtime, while Curry came out with a 1-0 overtime win as well. Against Rhode Island College, the Blazers claimed a 3-2 win, while the Colonels downs the Anchorwomen, 5-2. Against Newbury, Elms registered a 5-0 shutout, while Curry blanks the Nighthawks, 4-0.

The two teams will meet Wednesday, November 11^th at Leary Field. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. Winner will face the winner of the match between #2 Endicott College and #7 Emerson College on Saturday, November 14th.

First Round – Wednesday, Nov. 11
No. 8 Smith (7-7-5), vs. No. 1 Wentworth (16-2-1) – 11 a.m.
No. 7 Emerson (11-6-1) vs. No. 2 Endicott (9-8-2) – 7 p.m.
No. 6 Curry College (13-6-1) vs. No. 3 Elms (16-4-1) – 6 p.m.
No. 5 Framingham State (11-7-2) vs. No. 4 UNE (11-5-0) – 2 p.m.
 
Semifinals – Saturday, Nov. 14 at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinal #1: No. 1 Wentworth/No. 8 Smith winner vs. No. 4 UNE/No. 5 Framingham State winner - TBA
Semifinal #2: No. 2 Endicott/No. 7 Emerson winner vs. No. 3 Elms/No. 6 Curry winner - TBA
 
Championship – Sunday, Nov. 15 at Highest Remaining Seed
Winner Semifinal #1 vs. Winner Semifinal #2 - TBA

ELMS SOCCER