NEWTON, Mass. (11/15/13) - The Lasell College women's soccer team will take on the 9th ranked Messiah College in their opening round match in the NCAA tournament. The Lasers are making their fourth straight appearance in the NCAA's and are coming off an upset of #12 Amherst College in the 2012 NCAA tournament. Lasell reached the NCAA tournament after securing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship with 6-1 defeat of Suffolk University on Saturday, November 9.
Lasell (17-3-1) will play at Messiah (18-2-1) on Saturday, November 16. Also on Saturday at Messiah, Amherst College and Springfield College will be playing their first round matchup. The winners will meet in the second round on Sunday, November 17 at Messiah.
Lasell enters the NCAA tournament with a strong offense led by Bridget Lynch, the GNAC's Offensive Player of the Year and All-GNAC First team selection. Bridget is also currently the second leading scorer in the nation with 33 goals entering the tournament. The Lasers are averaging 3.67 goals scored per game which ties them for 11th in the nation.
Lasell is a tough team defensively, ranking second in the GNAC allowing an average of 0.75 goals per game. Lasell's back three of Jamie Osterberg, Jill, Greaney, and Sarah Jones have been tough all season. Jill Greaney and Jamie Osterberg were recognized as All-GNAC Third team selection. Goalkeeper Leah Pappalardo has been solid in net, finishing the season second in the GNAC with a 0.83 goals against average.
The Falcons have claimed the last two NCAA Division III championships, and have been crowned the NCAA Champions in four of the last five season's. Messiah enters this year's Tournament via an automatic qualifier after winning their seventh-straight Commonwealth Conference Championship with a 1-0 win over Stevenson University. The Falcons are led offensively by Nikki Elsaesser who has scored 17 times this season while assisting on four. Messiah enters the tournament with the third best defense in the country giving up .236 goals per game.
Saturday's match will be the first-ever meeting between Lasell and Messiah in women's soccer. Messiah is the defending national champion while Lasell upset Amherst last year before losing to Brandeis in the second round.