WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Cal Lutheran women's soccer team advanced to its first-ever NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen and will take on the host of the Williamstown Sectional, Williams College, Saturday at 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Cole Field with a chance of going to the Elite Eight.
The Regals (16-3-3) and Ephs (18-1-1) are the first game on Saturday with the game between Geneseo (18-1-2) and Johns Hopkins (17-2-3) coming after at 1:30 p.m. ET. The winner of each game will play Sunday at 1 p.m. ET in the Elite Eight match. There will be video and live stats for each game.
Get to know the teams:
Cal Lutheran Regals
Cal Lutheran was selected to the NCAA Tournament via an at-large berth. Kali Youngdahl was named the 2017 SCIAC Athlete of the Year after helping the Regals win the SCIAC Championship with a conference record of 11-1-2. Trinity Martinez was named the 2017 SCIAC Newcomer of the Year following a terrific debut season. Joining Youngdahl and Martinez on First Team All-SCIAC are Olivia Leyva and Maddy Griess. Sam Cornejo and Sarah Tadeusiak were named Second Team All-SCIAC.
Youngdahl leads the Regals with 13 goals and seven assists, for a total of 33 points. Cornejo follows with seven goals and Alexandria Albaeck has four. In goal, Gabby Flores leads the Regals with 38 saves, for a save percentage of .731. On the year, the defense has nine shutouts and has a goals against average of 0.83. Martinez, Jordan Miller and Bri Pinal have each scored three goals while Griess and Joss Pereda have both scored twice.
Williams Ephs
Williams is making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance and 11th-straight as they earned the NESCAC's automatic berth by a 2-1 overtime win versus Tufts in the tournament title game.
The Ephs have six all-NESCAC picks. Danielle Sim was a First Team selection and anchors an Eph defense that has allowed eight goals this season and owns a 0.43 goals against average. Sim was joined on the First Team by Natasha Albaneze and Evan Gancedo. Albaneze has dished out a league-best 10 assists and is second on Williams in scoring with 22 points.
Second Team selections included Olivia Barnhill, Natalie Turner-Wyatt and Alison Lu. Barnhill has played in 18 games in goal for the Ephs and has compiled a .857 save percentage and a 0.39 goals against average in over 1,523 minutes. She has 8 shutouts this season. Lu leads the Ephs in points (25) and goals (10).
Geneseo Knights
Geneseo won the SUNYAC Tournament to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights matched its program-record for single-season wins with 18. Leah Greene was named SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year and Ellie Gregory was named Rookie of the Year. Audrey Reid, Leah Greene, Taylor Clar, Rachel Walsh and Emily Janiszewski were named to the SUNYAC All-Conference First Team.
Ellie Gregory and Domenica Piccoli earned Second Team honors, while Jennifer Moran received Third Team recognition. Reid leads the Knights offensively with 19 goals and 8 assists for a total of 46 points. Piccoli follows Reid with 8 goals and 5 assists for a total of 21 points. Janiszewski has started all 21 games this season, has made 77 saves and has 10 shutouts on the year.
Johns Hopkins Blue Jays
Johns Hopkins received an at-large berth to the tournament. The Blue Jays have advanced to their ninth Sweet 16 in team history. Michelle Santangelo and goalkeeper Bess Kitzmiller were awarded First Team All-Conference selections in the Centennial Conference, Kyla Persky was named Second Team and Leslie Bruni was an honorable mention. Riley O-Toole was named Rookie of the Year.
Offensively, Santangelo leads the Blue Jays with 17 goals and 4 assists for a total of 38 points, followed by O'Toole who has netted 13 goals and tallied 2 assists for a total of 28 points. Maddy Rocks and Emily Maheras have each scored 5 goals and Bailey Monaco has 4. Kitzmiller leads the Blue Jays with 40 saves and has achieved a goals against average of .72.
2017 NCAA Div. III Bracket: Tournament Bracket
Tournament Central: Williamstown Sectional
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director