The 2023 America East Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the America East Conference held from October 30 through November 5, 2023. The five-match tournament took place at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the New Hampshire Wildcats,[1][2] who were unable to defend their title after falling in the first round to Vermont. Maine won the tournament after an overtime victory in the final over UMass Lowell.[3][4] It was the first victory in program history for Maine and the first for twenty-third year head coach Scott Atherly.[5][6] As tournament champions, Maine earned the America East's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament.
| 2023 America East Conference women's soccer tournament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Division I | ||||
| Teams | 6 | ||||
| Matches | 5 | ||||
| Attendance | 1,956 | ||||
| Site | Campus Sites (Higher Seed) | ||||
| Champions | Maine (1st title) | ||||
| Winning coach | Scott Atherley (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Lara Kirkby (Maine) | ||||
| Broadcast | ESPN+ | ||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Binghamton † | 5 | – | 0 | – | 3 | .813 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 6 | .529 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maine ‡y | 4 | – | 1 | – | 3 | .688 | 11 | – | 2 | – | 6 | .737 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Hampshire | 3 | – | 1 | – | 4 | .625 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 5 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMass Lowell | 3 | – | 2 | – | 3 | .563 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 7 | .472 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NJIT | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | .438 | 7 | – | 7 | – | 5 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vermont | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | .438 | 10 | – | 7 | – | 1 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bryant | 2 | – | 3 | – | 3 | .438 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 4 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Albany | 1 | – | 5 | – | 2 | .250 | 4 | – | 10 | – | 2 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMBC | 0 | – | 4 | – | 4 | .250 | 3 | – | 11 | – | 4 | .278 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 America East Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of December 5, 2023 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll Source: America East Conference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeding
editThe top six teams in the regular season earned a spot in the tournament. A tiebreaker was required to determine the fifth and sixth seeds for the tournament as NJIT and Vermont both finished with 3–4–1 records during regular season play. NJIT earned the fifth seed by virtue of their 3–2 victory at Vermont on October 22. Therefore, Vermont was the sixth and final seed for the tournament.[7]
| Seed | School | Conference Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Binghamton | 5–0–3 | 18 |
| 2 | Maine | 4–1–3 | 15 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | 3–1–4 | 13 |
| 4 | UMass Lowell | 3–2–3 | 12 |
| 5 | NJIT | 3–4–1 | 10 |
| 6 | Vermont | 3–4–1 | 10 |
Bracket
edit| Quarterfinals Monday, Oct. 30 | Semifinals Thursday, Nov. 2 | Final Sunday, Nov. 5 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Binghamton | 1 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UMass Lowell | 3 | 4 | UMass Lowell (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
| 5 | NJIT | 1 | 4 | UMass Lowell | 2 | |||||||||
| 2 | Maine (a.e.t.) | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Maine | 2 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | New Hampshire | 1 | 6 | Vermont | 1 | |||||||||
| 6 | Vermont | 2 | ||||||||||||
Schedule
editQuarterfinals
edit| October 30 | #3 New Hampshire | 1–2 | #6 Vermont | Durham, NH |
| 6:00 p.m. |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Wildcat Stadium Attendance: 133 Referee: Victor Matheson Assistant referees: Jason Ayotte John Jordan |
| October 30 | #4 UMass Lowell | 3–1 | #5 NJIT | Lowell, MA |
| 6:00 p.m. |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Cushing Field Attendance: 202 Referee: Victor Borges Assistant referees: Adam Cook Matt Stein Fourth official: Nicola Vesia |
Semifinals
edit| November 2 | #1 Binghamton | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | #4 UMass Lowell | Vestal, NY |
| 6:00 p.m. |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Bearcats Sports Complex Attendance: 381 Referee: Magda Zwierzchowski Assistant referees: Jeffrey Trubia Judson Ames Fourth official: Chris Scalza |
| November 2 | #2 Maine | 2–1 | #6 Vermont | Orono, ME |
| 6:00 p.m. |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Mahaney Diamond Attendance: 486 Referee: Stephanie MacFarland Assistant referees: Jessica Remmes-Davis Andrew Porada Fourth official: Ptya Lomeri |
Final
edit| November 5 | #2 Maine | 3–2 | #4 UMass Lowell | Orono, ME |
| 2:00 p.m. |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Mahaney Diamond Attendance: 754 Referee: Luis Reyes Assistant referees: Kyle Averill Andrew Porada Fourth official: Aruna Kenyi |
Statistics
editGoalscorers
editThere were 18 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 3.6 goals per match (as of November 5, 2023).
4 goals
- Juila Edholm – UMass Lowell
2 goals
- Lara Kirkby – Maine
- Abby Kraemer – Maine
- Lauren DeGroot – Vermont
1 goal
- Sophia Garofalo – Binghamton
- Kayla Kraemer – Maine
- Megan Logue – New Hampshire
- Bailey Chant – NJIT
- Jill Brody – Vermont
- Calliste Brookshire – UMass Lowell
- Chloe Layne – UMass Lowell
- Hope Santaniello – UMass Lowell
All-Tournament team
editSource:[8]
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Grisdale | Maine |
| Kristina Kelly | |
| Abby Kraemer | |
| Lara Kirkby | |
| Calliste Brookshire | NJIT |
| Taylor Burgess | |
| Julia Edholm | |
| Emma Colling | Binghamton |
| Oliva McKnight | |
| Maddy Cronin | Vermont |
| Lauren DeGroot | |
| Alivia Kelly | New Hampshire |
| Bailey Chant | NJIT |
MVP in bold
References
edit- ^ "Wildcats Win America East Championship in Penalty Kicks Versus Binghamton". unhwildcats.com. University of New Hampshire Athleticts. November 6, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Neill, Jackson (November 7, 2022). "Binghamton women's soccer loses America East Championship in penalty kicks to New Hampshire". wbng.com. Gray Media Group. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
- ^ Magliozzi, Connor (November 5, 2023). "Maine Soccer wins America East Championship for the first time in history". wabi.tv. WABI-TV. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ "Maine Soccer wins America East Championship for the first time in history". wowt.com. WOWT. November 5, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Women's Soccer Championship". americaeast.com. America East Conference. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
- ^ "America East Women's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). americaeast.com. America East Conference. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ "Postseason Time! #AEWSOC Championship Bracket Set". americaeast.com. America East Conference. October 27, 2023. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
- ^ "Nothing Like the First Time! Maine Claims 1st #AEWSOC Crown". americaeast.com. America East Conference. November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2023.