BENNINGTON, Vt. – The New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) announced Wednesday night the seeding for its 2016 women's soccer championship tournament with Southern Vermont College taking the No. 4 spot in the playoffs set to begin on Saturday.
This marks the sixth-straight year that the Mountaineers will be in the postseason and the second-consecutive year that SVC earned a seed good enough to host a first-round game. That quarterfinal match will take place on Saturday at Everett Field with Southern Vermont taking on fifth-seeded Bay Path University for the second time in four days; kickoff is slated for 12 p.m.
SVC went 8-6-3 on the year, grabbing its postseason spot with a 5-3-1 mark in league action. The Wildcats took the No. 5 seed with a 5-4 record against the NECC (9-6 overall), a big 1-0 win over Southern Vermont on Wednesday helping them jump over No. 6 Becker College.
"It feels great to make it into the tournament for the sixth-straight year," commented SVC head coach Michael Zauzig who has never missed the playoffs since coming to Southern Vermont for the 2011 campaign. "It is our expectation that we will make the playoffs each year, and it's a tremendous feeling to know that we have raised the bar. Hosting a playoff match has now become a new expectation."
The Mountaineers' three draws this year tied the program's record set by a 1997 team that finished 10-5-3. Southern Vermont was 0-1-3 in overtime games during the regular season, its one loss being a 1-0 downing at Elms College on a penalty kick. SVC junior goaltender Melissa Mascari (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) and the Mountaineers' defensive unit held their opponents to a 1.58 goals against average through the campaign while the offense was able to score 2.15 goals per 90 minutes of action.
Southern Vermont was led in the attacking end of the field by sophomore Molly Madore (Higganum, Conn.) who notched 13 goals to rank third in the NECC. She was followed by freshman Taylor Mallett (Berwick, Maine), a rookie who had eight goals and a team-leading six assists for 22 points which ranked ninth in the league. Fellow freshman Danielle Biggers (Bronx, N.Y.) had a great backend of the season, six of her seven goals this year coming against Conference teams.
"'Resilience' is the best word," Zauzig answered when asked what characteristic his 2016 squad possesses that can lead to postseason success. "It's been my toughest year at SVC with injuries; we've had more severe injuries than I can count at this point. The team has had plenty of reasons to say, 'It's just not our year,' but they keep battling and showing up with a smile each day."
The NECC expanded its field for the 2016 tournament-- this year's bracket containing eight teams for the first time in league history with no school any longer earning a first-round bye. Instead, there will be four quarterfinal matches on Saturday, all being hosted by the higher seed.
Elms took the top spot in the tournament, going a perfect 9-0 in NECC play (15-3-1 overall) to secure home-field advantage throughout the postseason; the Blazers will play host to No. 8 Mitchell on Saturday, the Mariners taking the final seed with a 2-7 mark in league action (2-13 overall). The winner of that match will then play the team that team that is to advance from the Southern Vermont/Bay Path contest next Wednesday, November 2 at the higher remaining seed in the semifinals.
No. 2 Lesley University (8-1 NECC, 13-4-2 overall) will host seventh-seeded Newbury College (4-5 NECC, 7-10 overall) in the quarterfinals on the other side of the bracket, the winner of that game then facing off next Wednesday against the victor of No. 3 Regis College (5-3-1 NECC, 9-6-2 overall) versus Becker (4-4-1 NECC, 9-8-1 overall).
The two winning teams from Wednesday's semifinals will then face off for the title and the chance to represent the NECC in the NCAA tournament, the championship game being set to take place Saturday, November 5 at the highest remaining seed.
Southern Vermont and Regis were the only two teams to need tie-breaking procedures for seed determination after having equal records in Conference play. Since the two squads tied one another in their regular season meeting, the split came down to the latest inter-division strength of schedule ranking for each side; Regis is currently listed with a .433 SOS while the Mountaineers have a .430.
SVC enters the playoffs going 4-2-1 over its last seven games, both of those losses being by 1-0 margins while three of the wins were shutouts against the league. The Mountaineers have posted a 0.69 GAA in that time, scoring 2.3 goals per game at the other end of the field.
"The team has shown some great moments over the past couple weeks," Zauzig noted. "Our results have been positive, but we're still looking for more consistency. I know that-- if we put a full 90 minutes together-- we can beat any team in the Conference. It was great to know that we made it very difficult for the top seed to break us down this year."
The Mountaineers' home-field advantage has a big chance to be a factor in Saturday's contest as SVC was 6-2-1 on Everett Field this year and 3-1 on its own pitch during the month of October.
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 29th
Game 1: #5 Bay Path University @ #4 Southern Vermont College - 12 p.m.
Game 2: #6 Becker College @ #3 Regis College - 5 p.m.
Game 3: #7 Newbury College @ #2 Lesley University - 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: #8 Mitchell College @ #1 Elms College - 3:30 p.m.
Semifinals – Wednesday, November 2nd
Game 5: Game 1 winner vs. Game 4 winner – TBA
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner – TBA
Championship – Saturday, November 5th
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – TBA
– #LetsGoSVC –