2023 Northeast Conference women's soccer tournament

The 2023 Northeast Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Northeast Conference held from October 29 to November 5, 2023. The five-match tournament took place at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting matches. The host for the matches was determined by seeding from regular season play. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.[1] Fairleigh Dickinson was unable to defend their title, losing to Wagner in the First Round. Central Connecticut went on to win the tournament over Wagner in penalties in the Final.[2] This was the thirteenth Northeast Conference tournament title for the Central Connecticut women's soccer program, eleven of which have come under the direction of head coach Mick D'Arcy. This marks the fifth NEC title in six years for Central Connecticut.[3] As tournament champions, Central Connecticut earned the Northeast Conference's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.

2023 Northeast Conference women's soccer tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Teams6
Matches5
Attendance2,970
SiteCampus Sites, Hosted by Higher Seed
ChampionsCentral Connecticut (13th title)
Winning coachMick D'Arcy (11th title)
MVPMelina Ford (Central Connecticut)
BroadcastESPN+
Northeast Conference women's soccer tournament
«2022  2024»
2023 Northeast Conference women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Merrimack  ‍‍‍ 8 1 1   .850 10 4 4   .667
Central Connecticut  ‍‍y 7 0 3   .850 10 5 5   .625
Fairleigh Dickinson  ‍‍‍ 8 2 0   .800 8 11 0   .421
Howard  ‍‍‍ 6 3 1   .650 12 6 2   .650
Sacred Heart  ‍‍‍ 5 4 1   .550 6 9 4   .421
Wagner  ‍‍‍ 5 5 0   .500 8 8 4   .500
Saint Francis (PA)  ‍‍‍ 3 5 2   .400 3 12 2   .235
LIU  ‍‍‍ 3 6 1   .350 7 8 2   .471
Stonehill  ‍‍‍ 2 6 2   .300 2 13 3   .194
Le Moyne  ‍‍‍ 1 7 2   .200 2 12 4   .222
Delaware State  ‍‍‍ 0 9 1   .050 0 15 1   .031
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2023 NEC Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
As of December 5, 2023
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll
Source: Northeast Conference

Seeding

edit

The top six teams from regular season play qualified for the 2023 Tournament. Teams were seeded based on their regular season records. Tiebreakers were used to determine seeds if teams were tied on regular season record. A tiebreaker was required to determine the second and third seeds as Central Connecticut and Fairleigh Dickinson finished the regular season tied with 24 points each. Central Connecticut won the regular season meeting between the two teams 2–1 on September 24 and was therefore the second seed. Fairleigh Dickinson would have to play in the First Round as the third seed.[4]

Seed School Conference Record Points
1 Merrimack 8–1–1 25
2 Central Connecticut 7–0–3 24
3 Fairleigh Dickinson 8–2–0 24
4 Howard 6–3–1 22
5 Sacred Heart 5–4–1 16
6 Wagner 5–5–0 15

Bracket

edit
First Round
Sunday, Oct. 29
Semifinals
Thursday, Nov. 2
Final
Sunday, Nov. 5
1 Merrimack 1 (1)
4 Howard 1 6 Wagner (pen.) 1 (3)
5 Sacred Heart 0 2 Central Connecticut (pen.) 1 (4)
6 Wagner 1 (3)
2 Central Connecticut (a.e.t.) 2
3 Fairleigh Dickinson 0 4 Howard 1
6 Wagner 3

Note: Teams were re-seeded after the First Round.

Schedule

edit

First round

edit
October 29 #3 Fairleigh Dickinson 0–3 #6 Wagner Teaneck, NJ
12:00 p.m. ET Report
  •   15' Madison Carr
  •   24' Jess Maraia
  •   33' Olivia Rubbo
Stadium: University Stadium
Attendance: 243
Referee: Danny Marques
Assistant referees: Pete Mandell
Assistant referees: Kyle O'Grady
Fourth official: Jaroslaw Werel
October 29 #4 Howard 1–0 #5 Sacred Heart Washington, D.C.
9:00 p.m. ET
  • Marli Berry   31',   87'
  • Asia Mickens-Perez   79'
Report
  •   45' Nichol Green
Stadium: Greene Stadium
Attendance: 211
Referee: Ben Pilgrim
Assistant referees: Susan Walton
Assistant referees: Inga Maric
Fourth official: Mark Remsa

Semifinals

edit
November 2 #2 Central Connecticut 2–1 (a.e.t.) #4 Howard New Britain, CT
6:00 p.m. ET
  • Katarzyna Zawadzki   57'
  • Aoife Horgan   88' (pen.)
  • Daniela De Souza   102'
Report
  •   30' Zoe Moore
  •   57' Mia Young
  •   69' Nyla Allen
  •   88' Marli Berry
Stadium: CCSU Soccer Field
Attendance: 622
November 2 #1 Merrimack 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(1–3 p)
#6 Wagner Andover, MA
7:00 p.m. ET
  • Isabella Keogh   77'
Report
  •   90' Kayla Barbosa
Stadium: Martone-Mejail Field
Attendance: 781
Referee: Luis Reis
Assistant referees: Claudiu Badea
Assistant referees: Nicola Vesia
Fourth official: Leah Hayes
Penalties
  • Abigail Cieri  
  • Ella Cormier  
  • Emma Rogorzenski  
  • Sydney Haskin  
  •   Sara Wiedeman
  •   Kylie McNally
  •   Jess Maraia
  •   Juliana Rafaniello

Final

edit
November 5 #2 Central Connecticut 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–3 p)
#6 Wagner New Britain, CT
1:00 p.m. ET
  • Giavanna Inzerillo   104'
Report
  •   25',   110' Kayla Barbosa
  •   56' Jess Maraia
  •   95' Juliana Rafaniello
  •   104'   104' Team
Stadium: CCSU Soccer Field
Attendance: 1,113
Referee: Alexandria Focea
Assistant referees: Claudiu Badea
Assistant referees: Inga Maric
Penalties
  • Aoife Horgan  
  • Sabrina Krause  
  • Victoria Violette  
  • Kiley Yepes  
  • Gia Edwards  
  •   Sara Wiedeman
  •   Kylie McNally
  •   Alana Goldsmith
  •   Juliana Rafaniello
  •   Madison Carr

Statistics

edit

Goalscorers

edit

There were 11 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 2.2 goals per match (as of November 5, 2023).

2 goals

  • Kayla Barbosa – Wagner

1 goal

  • Daniela De Souza – Central Connecticut
  • Aoife Horgan – Central Connecticut
  • Giavanna Inzerillo – Central Connecticut
  • Marli Berry – Howard
  • Mia Young – Howard
  • Isabella Keogh – Merrimack
  • Madison Carr – Wagner
  • Jess Maraia – Wagner
  • Olivia Rubbo – Wagner

All-Tournament team

edit

Source:[5]

Player Team
Abbie Burgess Central Connecticut
Melina Ford
Nicolle Santos
Victoria Violette
Melea Earley Howard
Trinity Knox
Caroline Howland Merrimack
Isabella Keogh
Kayla Barbosa Wagner
Sam Hughes
Juliana Rafaniello

MVP in bold

References

edit
  1. ^ Northeast Conference. "2022 Northeast Conference Women's Soccer Tournament". northeastconference.org. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Northeast Conference. "2023 Northeast Conference Women's Soccer Tournament". northeastconference.org. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  3. ^ Northeast Conference. "NEC Women's Soccer Record Book" (PDF). northeastconference.org. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Northeast Conference (October 26, 2023). "Merrimack Clinches First NEC Women's Soccer Regular Season Title". northeastconference.org. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  5. ^ "CCSU Adds Another Chapter To NEC Women's Soccer Legacy, Wins Record 13th Title In Dramatic Fashion". northeastconference.org. Northeast Conference. November 5, 2023. Retrieved December 29, 2023.