HAVERFORD, Pa. – After a strong regular season, the Haverford College women's soccer team earned one of the 20 pool "C" at-large bids across all of Division III and will begin its journey into the NCAA Tournament this Saturday with a 1:30 p.m. match against Randolph-Macon. Messiah will serve as the host institution for Haverford's regional round this weekend as the tournament starts with 64 teams and will be down to 16 by Sunday night. The winner of Saturday's game will play the winner of Messiah and Lesley with that second round match set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Weekend Schedule (all games at Messiah): (Regional Central)
First Round (Saturday, November 16)
#1 Messiah (18-1-1, 7-0-1 MAC Commonwealth) vs. Lesley (14-3-2, 6-1 NECC) (11 a.m.)
(RV) Haverford (12-4-2, 6-2-2 Centennial) vs. (RV) Randolph-Macon (20-0-1, 10-0 ODAC) (1:30 p.m.)
Second Round (Sunday, November 17)
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner (1 p.m.)
* Rankings used above are from the United Soccer Coaches ((RV) indicates a team receiving votes in the national rankings)
Tickets are required for Admission to the NCAA First and Second Rounds. Tickets can be bought at the gate with admission prices below:
General Admission: $6
Senior Citizen: $3
Students: $3
Children (ages 3-12): $2
Fords in NCAA Tournament: Haverford will be making its fourth appearance all-time in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Fords advanced to the national tournament in 2005 and 2012 after earning an automatic bid by winning the Centennial Conference Tournament while also earning an at-large bid into the 2013 field. During both of the years in which Haverford won the Centennial Conference, the Fords opened their tournament with a game that went to penalty kicks. Haverford advanced to the second round during the 2005 season where they fell to Messiah by a 1-0 score.
Series History: Haverford has played Randolph-Macon just once in school history, a 5-0 win for the Yellow Jackets during the 1996 season. Including the 2005 NCAA Tournament match, Haverford is 1-7 all-time against Messiah. Haverford's win in the series came during the first-ever meeting in 1986 where current Director of Athletics Wendy Smith '87 scored in an eventual 4-1 win for the Fords. Haverford's last matchup with Messiah came during the 2008 regular season. Should they meet in the second round, Lesley and Haverford would be playing for the first time in program history.
Common Opponents: Haverford does not have any common opponents with Randolph-Macon or Lesley heading into the regional weekend. With both playing in the Mid-Atlantic Region, the Fords and Messiah had six common opponents on their schedules to date. Both teams earned victories against Alvernia, Lebanon Valley, and Widener throughout the regular season. Messiah is 1-0-1 against Arcadia, including a win in its most recent match to claim the MAC Commonwealth while the Fords played the Knights in their first match match of the 2019 season. Messiah has also defeated Centennial Conference foes Johns Hopkins and Dickinson by 1-0 scores throughout the regular season.
Overtime games: Haverford has gone to overtime twice throughout the regular season, finishing in a 1-1 deadlock with a then-No. 5 Johns Hopkins side while also settling for a scoreless draw versus Washington College.
Penalty Kicks: Haverford has gone to penalty kicks a total of six times in program history. The Fords are an even 3-3 in shootouts, including a 1-1 mark during NCAA Tournament matches. Haverford last went to penalty kicks during the 2016 Centennial Conference First Round match against Gettysburg which the Bullets won by a 4-2 final. Haverford's longest PK shootout was a 9-8 victory for the Fords during the 2011 Haverford College Kick Off Classic match against Arcadia as that back-and-forth battle took 11 rounds to decide a winner.
About Haverford: After dropping its season opener on the last day of August the Fords went unbeaten during the month of September as part of a school-record eight match winning streak that turned into a school record 13 match unbeaten streak that lasted until the final weekend of October. That run helped vault the Fords into the postseason for the fourth straight season. This year's NCAA Tournament appearance will be the first NCAA Tournament for the vast majority of the Fords. Only Rachel White, a transfer from an Emory team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, has experience in the NCAA Tournament.
Just announced this week were a program-record six Fords who earned All-Centennial Conference accolades in Leanne Ludwick (first team), Kendra Griesman (first team), Hannah Friedrich (second team), Lindsay Wytkind (second team), Celia Page (honorable mention), and Emily Thissen (honorable mention). Those six honorees tied the program record for most all-conference selections in a season as the Fords also had that many players honored following the 2004 and 2011 seasons. This year marked the 10th in school history that Haverford had multiple players named first-team All-Centennial Conference.
With three defenders recognized, Haverford has recorded 10 shutouts to date which is just one shy of the school record. Shutting out opponents in 55.6% of the team's matches, that mark ranks among the top 50 teams in all of Division III. The Fords are allowing just 0.65 goals per match, the 42nd-best mark in the country in what is also tied for the second-best average in program history.
In the attacking third, the Fords are averaging 2.44 goals per match which is the team's highest average since the 2004 season when Haverford scored a school record 3.42 goals per contest. Ludwick ranks second in the Centennial Conference in both assists (8) and points (32) while ranking third in goals (12). Page scored 10 goals and assisted on four more during her rookie season while Saede Eifrig tied with Ludwick as she assisted on eight goals this season. Griesman has also added five goals on the season, each of which came during Centennial Conference action in the second half of the year. A total of 10 different Fords have found the back of the net this season, with two others also recording assists.
Head coach Jamie Schneck has led the Fords to the postseason during 11 of her 13 seasons as head coach. Her career record of 134-67-36 is the best winning percentage in program history. She needs just one more victory to tie and two more wins to pass Wendy Smith '87 as the winningest coach in program history.
Scouting Randolph-Macon: The Yellow Jackets suffered their lone blemish of the season during the ODAC Championship as they played Virginia Wesleyan to a scoreless draw throughout 110 minutes, but ultimately earned the ODAC's automatic bid after winning in penalty kicks by a 5-3 margin. The Yellow Jackets are one of three teams in the country (Centre; 21-0 & Pitt.-Greensburg; 19-0-1) that have not taken a loss this season. Randolph-Macon has scored 70 goals through its first 21 matches, the 13th-highest total in all of Division III. Gabby Nelson leads the Yellow Jackets swarm as she has scored 27 goals to ranked third in the country, including nine game-winning efforts. Defensively, RMC is allowing just 0.47 goals per match and has recorded shutouts in 14 of its 21 outings. Like the Fords, the Yellow Jackets are making their fourth appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament, but their first since 1996.
Scouting Messiah: A traditional power in the region and across Division III, Messiah has made the NCAA Tournament during each of the past 20 seasons, advancing to the national championship nine times and winning five of those championship matches (most recently in 2012). The top team in the rankings entering the tournament, Messiah won the MAC Commonwealth's automatic bid against Arcadia. Messiah is headlined by Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Year Brooke Firestone who scored 18 goals in 16 matches. Fellow first-team all-conference performer Ellie Lengacher scored nine goals and helped out on 12 others. Three midfielders and three defenders also earned all-conference accolades while goalkeeper Lydia Ewing, a second-team performer, allowed just 0.32 goals per match. Messiah own a top-10 offense nationally, averaging 3.70 goals per match while allowing just 0.29 over that same span. Arcadia (a scoreless draw in the regular season) and William Smith (won 2-0) were the two squads to earn results against the Falcons during the regular season.
Scouting Lesley: Lesley won its third straight New England Collegiate Conference by avenging its only conference defeat of the regular season in penalty kicks against Elms. The Lynx, making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight seasons, had seven players named All-NECC, with five of those individuals earning first-team honors. Those seven award recipients represent three forwards, two midfielders, and two defenders. Alexandria Torres leads the team with nine goals while first-team honoree Claire Hounslow has scored seven goals and assisted on three more. Chloe Kouyoumdjian scored six goals and assisted on six more to round out the conference award winners. All seven of Lesley's all-conference players will return next year as Maddie Deitrick and Julia Cohn earned first-team recognition in the midfield while Kerrie Larson and Sophie Smurthwaite earned those same honors on defense. The Lynx averaged just under three goals per match during the regular season while holding opponents to just under a goal per game.
Up Next: The team that emerges from this regional will begin preparations for the NCAA Division III Section Round to be played next weekend (Nov. 23-24) at a campus host to be determined after the results of this weekend. The NCAA Tournament will be down to the Sweet 16 at the conclusion of Sunday's matches.