Marywood to Play Cabrini for CSAC Championship Saturday
Pacers look for first repeat trip to NCAA Tourney in school history
Marywood will face Cabrini Saturday for the CSAC's bid to the Division III tournament
Scranton, PA - Top-seeded Marywood University has advanced to the Colonial States Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Championship for the second consecutive year and will take on second seed Cabrini College Saturday at 3:00 pm at Immaculata University's Draper Walsh Stadium as part of the CSAC Fall Championship Festival. The Pacers advanced to the title contest with a 2-1 win over #4 Gwynedd-Mercy College Wednesday while the Cavaliers got past #3 Centenary 3-1. At stake is the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Soccer Championship Tournament. Admission price is $2. Details on how to follow the game via live stats and/or video can be found below.
Both teams enter Saturday's Championship riding double-digit unbeaten streaks. The Pacers (14-2-1) are on a program-record 15-game unbeaten streak and have gone 14-0-1 since opening the season 0-2. Marywood has also tied the program record for wins in a season with 14. Cabrini, meanwhile, is on an 11-game tear of their own. The Cavaliers have not lost since facing the Pacers in regular season action on September 26 when the Pacers left Radnor with a 4-2 win. The Pacers will look to become the first Marywood team to reach the NCAA Division III tournament two times. Last year, Marywood joined the 1987 women's basketball team as the only programs to qualify for NCAA Tournament play.
Marywood boasts the 9th ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 3.88 goals per game. The Pacers are also ranked 18th in Won-Loss-Tie Percentage where they boast a .824 winning percentage. The Pacers' defense has also cracked the national rankings as they are ranked 86th in the nation for goals-against average (0.86). Lisa Hanselman (Manheim, PA) is nationally ranked in two categories as the senior stands at 18th in the country with a 1.20 goals per game average and 28th in points per game (2.53). Freshman Siobhan Blancaflor (Haddam, CT) is also nationally ranked with 1.87 points per game (85th) and 0.67 assists per game (21st). Goalkeeper Meghan Coyle (Endicott, NY) cracked the top-100 for goals against average and is ranked 99th in the nation with a 0.96 goals against average.
Cabrini's Sabina DeGisi is also nationally ranked and stands 34th in the country with a 1.00 goals per game average and 60th with a 2.06 points per game average. Goalkeeper Gianna Poretta is ranked 65th in save percentage after stopping 85.1% of the shots she has faced.
The Pacers placed ten players on the All-Conference squad and swept the special awards recognition. Hanselman was named the Conference's Player of the Year and was on the First Team. Olivia Habict (Woodcliff Lake, NJ) was named the Rookie of the Year and was also a First Team honoree. Joining Habicht and Hanselman on the First Team were defenders Andrea Barker (Binghamton, NY) and Lacey Habicht as well as goalkeeper Meghan Coyle. Lisa Gavin (Woodbury Heights, NJ) was named to the Second Team, while Blancaflor, Leslie Higham (North Brunswick, NJ) and Shannon Hresko (Gibbstown, NJ) were Honorable Mention. Coach Andrew Smith was named the Conference's Coach of the Year after leading the Pacers to a 9-0-1 Conference record during the regular season.
Senior back Amanda Ribakusky and midfielder Sammy Thompson were named to the First Team for the Cavaliers, while DeGisi earned Second Team accolades. DeGisi was a three-time First Team selection (2006-2008) and was joined on the Second Team by defender Brianna Conner. Jenna Laufenberg, Annmarie Kolla, Dana Nardello and goalkeeper Maddy Edwards earned Honorable Mention distinctions.
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