MARCY, N.Y. - The SUNY Poly women's soccer team will take on Cazenovia College in the first round of the North Atlantic Conference Soccer Tournament. The divisional side of the tournament will be hosted at SUNY Delhi on Saturday, October 29th, and Sunday, October 30th. The Wildcats will kick off at 2:30 PM. The winner of SUNY Poly/Cazenovia will play the winner of SUNY Delhi/NVU-Johnson for the West Division Championship. The winner will face the North Atlantic Conference East Division champion on Saturday, November 5th, for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats carry a 7-3-4 record overall, and a 4-2-3 record in conference play.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Wildcats are riding a three-game winning streak heading into the postseason, with wins over NVU-Johnson, Wells, and Morrisville State in the last week. The Wildcats offense has been in full force recently, scoring at least three goals in each of their last three wins (3-1, 6-0, 4-1). Hannah Shipley has been a staple offensively for the Wildcats, leading the team in both goals and assists. Shipley has scored in each of the last two games, with a two-goal performance against Wells College. Brooke Bush, Kaitlyn Daley, Kate Donnelly, Katelynn Truax, and Ashley Kiuber will look to continue their regular season offensive success into the postseason.
The Wildcats' back line has been strong all season, allowing only 1.86 goals per game. Elena Ruznic, Quinlan Gowett, and Meaghan Greenway have done a great job all season keeping the ball out of the Wildcats' defensive side of the field.
Michalyn Fagan and Katie Bowers will look to keep their strong goalkeeper play rolling for the Wildcats. The two goalkeepers have combined for an .816 save percentage and a total of seven shutouts.
SCOUTING CAZENOVIA COLLEGE: Cazenovia College earned the #3 seed in the tournament after finishing conference play with a 5-4 record, bringing their overall record to 6-9-1. Cazenovia is coming off a two-game conference winning streak, beating SUNY Canton and SUNY Cobleskill to secure the #3 seed. Look for Jenicah Brown and Jaylah Cossin to be offensive threats for Cazenovia. Brown and Cossin are tied on the season for the most points for Cazenovia, with 17.
LAST MEETING: SUNY Poly and Cazenovia College last met this season on September 17th. SUNY Poly held Cazenovia scoreless for a 2-0 victory. Michalyn Fagan and Katie Bowers both played well in goal, recording six saves for the shutout victory. Kaitlyn Daley and Hannah Shipley scored for the Wildcats to secure the victory.
LOOKING AHEAD: The NAC East Division Champions and the NAC West Division Champions will play on November 5th for the overall NAC Championship. The winner of the game will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The site of the game is TBD depending on who is the team with the most points after the completion of the divisional championship.
WOMEN'S SOCCER POSTSEASON TEAM POINTS:
Husson 25
UMaine-Farmington 18
Maine Maritime 18
Umaine-Presque Isle 16
SUNY Poly 15
Cazenovia College 15
SUNY Delhi 14
NVU-Johnson 7
*NOTE*: SUNY Delhi is hosting divisional playoffs due to having the most divisional points on the NAC West Division.
WHERE TO FOLLOW: You can follow along with this weekend's tournament at SUNY Delhi by clicking on the link below:
https://wildcats.sunypoly.edu/sports/wsoc/2022-23/boxscores/20221029_pglx.xml