Women's Sectional Previews: East

By D3soccer.com Contributor

Third Round - Saturday

Quarterfinals - Sunday

Sectional Final, 1:00 pm ET

How they reached the Sweet 16

2019 Statistical Overview

William Smith Season Review

Number 1 seed and hosts William Smith come into the weekend ranked second in the last D3soccer.com poll and with a record of 18-1-1 they will be seen as the favorites to advance. The Herons cruised through the first two rounds of tournament play beating Utica 3-0 before overcoming Mary Washington 2-0. They have lost once all season and are the only team to have beaten the No.1 ranked Messiah. William Smith’s first match against Utica had a respectable score line yet the Herons racked up a whopping 45 shots with 25 shots on target to Utica’s 1. They marched on dominating Mary Washington holding them to only four shots. William Smith will be one of the favorites to go all the way with their amazing depth. They have an insane 21 players who have contributed points this season with 19 different goal scorers. If you thought that was impressive then just wait for this defensive statistic. They have conceded four goals all season, tied for first place in fewest goals allowed in Division III this year with MIT.

This miserly backline is led by Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year Maialen Martinez. Amanda Kelser is between the pipes for the Herons and getting the ball by the 5’9” sophomore net minder will be extremely difficult for all comers. Vassar was the last team to breach William Smith’s backline on October 12 and since then they’ve gone nine games without conceding.

When it comes to the offense the phrase ‘many hands make light work’ comes to mind. 19 different goal scorers with 21 different point getters is truly offense by committee. Sheila McQuillen leads the offense statistics with six goals and four assists with Sarah Gray close behind her with five goals and two assists. Collectively they’ve scored 46 goals, but the opposition won’t know where they will come from.

The architect behind it all, Aliceann Wilber is a beacon of experience in her 40th year at the helm of William Smith. Her 590 wins are just incomprehensible but that is the standard this lady has set at William Smith. She has established a perennial powerhouse with two national titles, six Final Four appearances, and this will be her 24th trip to the Sweet 16. Impressive would be an understatement to describe Aliceann Wilber. Don’t be surprised to see a statue erected on the campus of William Smith whenever she does decide to call it quits. Fortunately, that won’t be this year and we get to see this class act chase her third national title. Come early December, it would not be shocking to see the Herons in Greensboro.

Stevens Season Review

Steven’s comes into the tournament 17-3-1, which is very impressive given their strength of schedule. Their losses come against Messiah, Swarthmore and TCNJ as they sit 18th in the last D3soccer.com rankings. They have earned the right to be here overcoming last year’s national runner-up and 2019 NESCAC regular season champions Middlebury beating them 2-1 in the second round on Sunday. The Engineers are currently on a 15-game winning streak since their loss to TCNJ back on September 15th. They will be brimming with self-belief as they clash with William Smith in the third round. They handily beat Mass-Boston in the first round 3-0 with goals from Gabby Saade, Catalina Abusada and Fiona Matthews.

The offense is led by All American midfielder and MAC Freedom Offensive Player of the Year Julia Panko. She has 13 goals for the season and if you’ve ever seen her in action, you know that she is an absolute treat. She has sublime technique and is a tricky customer with the ball at her feet. Fellow MAC Freedom first teamers Gabby Saade, seven goals and eight assists along with Ally Wanzor, five goals and six assists will support the Panko on offense. They have only been shut out twice this season and the last time that happened was back on September 13th against Swarthmore.

Izzy Dario starts in net for the Engineers with a stingy goal against average of 0.39. Sophomore defender Gianna Nitti marshals the backline as a first team MAC Freedom defender. This group has gelled together well and will be hard to penetrate. Before their second round game against Middlebury they had not given up a goal since October 23rd. They are playing well on both sides of the ball and will need to be at their best when they journey up to Geneva, NY.

Overseeing the program for the past 20 years is Jeff Parker. The attacking mastermind has been in the NCAA tournament an impressive 12 of his 20 seasons at Steven’s. This is however his first trip to the Sweet 16 and they will be underdogs meeting hosts William Smith. The Engineers will be full of belief however as they put their 15-game win streak on the line.

Johns Hopkins Season Review

John’s Hopkins cruises into this weekend off a back of pair of 2-0 victories. The Centennial Conference tournament champions are one of the most talented teams in the field this year. Perched at 9th in the final D3soccer.com rankings, the Blue Jays are comfortably into the third round of the “Big Dance” and will surely be licking their chops to push on in the tournament. Emily Mahares had a goal in each game on the weekend and will be one of the many Blue Jay threats. She has 16 goals and 3 assists from midfield while Rachel Jackson, the 2018 Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year, has chipped in with nine goals and two assists from center forward. The two have combined for 55 points and will be the main threats though they have ample support from a very strong all-around Hopkins team. The Blue Jays dominated Penn State Berks in their first round match despite the moderate 2-0 score line outshooting Penn State Berks 22-10. In their second round match against a strong Christopher Newport team they were still dominant outshooting Christopher Newport 19-11 on the day while scoring two goals in the first half.

Caitlin Hendricks minds the net for the Blue Jays and comes into the semis with 0.76 goals against average. They have yet to concede since knockout play has begun keeping a clean sheet in all of their conference tournament games defeating Haverford and Dickinson 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. They then got by Penn State Berks and Christopher Newport 2-0 and 2-0 in the NCAA tournament. Mizuho Obayashi is first team Centennial Conference at left back and her contributions are equally offensive as defensive on the left. She is unassuming but astonishingly focused and technically astute. The Hopkins backline has conceded some 16 times so far this season. And though solid it is their offense that really defines the Blue Jays team.

The offense is led by attacking center midfielder Emily Mahares. She has found the back of the net an impressive 16 times from midfield. Rachel Jackson only has nine goals on the season so far but anyone who has seen her in action knows she contributes so much more up top. It often takes more than one defender to slow her down. The Blue Jays have 12 different goal scorers on the roster and will be extremely hard to keep off the score sheet having only been shut out twice this season, one of which was at the big bad number 1 seeded Messiah. The field better look out, as the Blue Jays are serious contenders to get their first ever national title.

Leo Weil,in his 28th year at the helm for John’s Hopkins, has a glittering career record of 409-120-43. The Blue Jays and Leo have been ever present in the NCAA tournament making the Final Four in 2014. They will surely be looking to return to that level of success this season with the level of talent they have in the team this year.

Dickinson Season Review

Dickinson comes into the weekend at 16-2-4. Ranked 15th on our last D3soccer.com ranking, the Centennial Conference regular season champions dismissed a formidable Farmingdale State team 3-1 in their first round match up. Charlotte Glancey opened the scoring for the Red Devils. Two additional goals from Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year Meg Tate propelled Dickinson to victory after the Rams equalized in their first round match. That was Tate’s 19th and 20th goals of the season and her sixth multiple goal game which includes two hat tricks and four braces. The first-year from Carlisle, PA has been red-hot this year and will be a player to watch for the Red Devils. Dickinson then battled with NESCAC tournament champions and pod hosts Amherst. Elizabeth Krause scored with five seconds remaining in the first half to give Dickinson a precious lead that would be decisive. Dickinson held on in New England as the hosts outshot them 17-3 in the second half. Dickinson grabbed their 16th win, tying the program record for wins in a season.

The Dickinson attack is not far from a one-woman wrecking show as first-year Meg Tate has done the heavy lifting this season. The Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year has racked up a whopping 20 goals this season, which puts her at 23rd in the nation. She also has 4 assists to total 44 points on the season. Addy Zandi has contributed as well with an impressive 22 points on 7 goals and 8 assists. Their offense is a hard one to contain as they have only been shut out on three occasions this year.

Speaking of shut outs, Carli Boyer has totaled 12 shuts outs this season for the Red Devils. She has marshaled a stingy backline, which includes stand out first-year and first team all Centennial Conference back Lauren Bracken. They have given up only 12 goals this season and only one team has managed to score more than once against the Red Devils in a game. Their 0.52 goals against average means they will be one tough cookie to crack.

Ted Zingman is in his third season at the helm of the Red Devils, after 10 years at Hamline in St. Paul Minnesota. At Dickinson, he has already racked up 38 wins his record standing at 38-11-9. He has taken the program to new heights as Dickinson marches into the third round of the NCAAs. A feat they achieved some 14 years ago in 2005 when they progressed to the third round eventually falling to Messiah 3-1. The team has a bright future however with two first-years on the all Centennial Conference first team in Meg Tate and Lauren Bracken. Zingman is doing an amazing job on the recruiting trail and Dickinson will be a force to reckon with not only this year but in the immediate future as well.

Head Coaches

Seniors' 4-year Record (through Nov. 17)

Players to Watch

William Smith: #23 Maialen Martinez (Jr.) – 2g, 3a, 1gwg (LL DefPoY, 1st team) | #20 M Elizabeth Moore (Sr.) – 3g, 1a, 3gwg (LL 1st team) | #22 D Emilie Sauvayre (Sr.) – 2g, 4a, 1gwg (LL 1st team)

Stevens: #20 M Julia Panko (Sr.) – 13g, 3a, 5gwg (MAC-F OffPOY, 1st team) | #7 D Gianna Nitti (So.) – 3g, 1a, 1gwg (MAC-F DefPOY, 1st team) | #10 F Gabby Saade (Sr.) – 8g, 7a, 4gwg (MAC-F 1st team) | #18 F Ally Wanzor (So.) – 5g, 6a, 2gwg (MAC-F 1st team)

Johns Hopkins: #4 M Emily Maheras (Sr.) – 16g, 3a, 6gwg (CC POY, 1st team) | #20 F Rachel Jackson (So.) – 9g, 2a, 3gwg (CC 1st team) | #11 D Mizuho Obayashi (Jr.) – (CC 1st team)

Dickinson: #2 M Addy Zandi (Sr.) – 7g, 8a, 3gwg(CC 2x 1st team) |#10 F Meg Tate (Fr.) – 20g, 4a 8gwg (CC RookieOY, 1st team) | #28 D Lauren Bracken (Fr.) – 2a (CC 1st team) | #00 GK Carli Boyer (So.) – 0.45 GAA, .901 Sv% (CC 1st team)

Tournament Re-Matches

Centennial rivals Johns Hopkins and Dickinson meet for the third time this season. The two teams battled to a two-all draw in regular season play while the Blue Jays prevailed 2-0 in the conference tournament final. Early in the season, JHU visited Stevens with this match also ending 2-2.

William Smith have not faced any of the other three members of this sectional during the last four seasons. The Herons and Dickinson Red Devils have never met; the Herons and Ducks only contest was in 2013; while the Herons and Blue Jays played in 2008 and '09.

Why they will advance to the Final Four

William Smith: The perennial northeastern powerhouse is stronger than ever, especially defensively. They do not concede goals and their relentless mentality and athleticism will be hard to stop. Their depth means they stay fresh and its wave after wave of pressure from different line ups but the same mentality and athleticism. They put so much pressure on the opposition and eventually their opponents crack. This team will be hard to stop and even harder to score on. Aliceann Wilber will be making sure they stay focused on the path that leads to Greensboro, North Carolina and possibly her third national championship.

Stevens: Stevens comes in as the heavy underdogs. We’ve all heard of the Miracle on Ice and the battle of David and Goliath. It will take a similar feat for Stevens to get past William Smith and then one of the Centennial Conference powerhouses they will then face if able to hurdle the Herons. The key to their success will reside firmly on the shoulders of the All-American midfielder Julia Panko. When she is on she is extremely difficult to stop and she has some serious supporting pieces that will be able to help her if she gets going in Saade and Wanzor. They will also have to defend stoutly but knowing Jeff Parker, Stevens are not going up to Geneva to defend. They are going to take it to William Smith. The Engineers are fearless and will have the belief after 15 straight victories to pull off the upset.

Johns Hopkins: This Hopkins team might be one of the most talented in the entire national field. They have it all from depth to special players to an experienced coach. They are just that good and have the pieces to beat anyone on any day. Emily Maheras and Rachel Jackson are the special players and though Maheras has 16 goals from midfield, its Rachel Jackson that most coaches will be scratching their heads about how to contain. She has pace, power and skill and when you pay too much attention to her, Maheras is there to make you pay. When this team is on they are unstoppable. It just might be their year to take it all.

Dickinson: Dickinson has probably the toughest task to get to the Final Four in beating Johns Hopkins in what will be their third encounter this season. They have yet to beat the Blue Jays tying the first encounter 2-2 and losing in the conference title two weeks ago 2-0. Complacency could creep into the Hopkins camp and that would be the opportunity for the Red Devils to get by the Blue Jays. That said it would be the youthful Meg Tate and Lauren Bracken that will have to come up big for Dickinson. Their young coach in his third season at the Red Devils’ helm could also conjure up some magic to push them into the Final Four but it will be a tall task for Dickinson. Regardless, the stingy backline and their superstar first-year forward Meg Tate will have to bring their A games if they are to make it to Greensboro.

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