NCAA Division I Tournament: Opening & First Round

It’s a rematch of the regular season finale for Fairfield and Delaware in the NCAA Opening Round. When the pair last faced off, Delaware came out on top, downing Fairfield 2-0. This time, the Stags hope to change the narrative, and extend head coach Jackie Kane’s last season.

Delaware finished regular season CAA play 3-2, ultimately taking a 4-3 overtime win against Monmouth in the conference final to secure the CAA title. The Blue Hens last made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2022, where they defeated Lehigh, 4-0, in the Opening Round, but ultimately were knocked out by North Carolina in the Second Round.

Fairfield did rather well in the NEC this year, going 6-2 in conference play, defeating Rider, 2-1, in the semifinal, then pulling off the upset against No. 1 seed Wagner in the championship. The last time the Stags earned a spot at the NCAA Tournament was in 2021, when they lost in overtime 4-3 in the opening round to Delaware. 

FINAL: DELAWARE 2 - 1 (OT) FAIRFIELD

It’s been 18 years since Vermont and Miami (Ohio) last met. In 2006, Vermont came out victorious in a 5-4 overtime victory. Now, Vermont and Miami get ready to face off again after almost two decades, this time in the NCAA Opening Round.

Vermont, who went 3-3 in conference play during the regular season, fought their way to their first-ever American East (AE) conference title, and first spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Catamounts defeated UMass Lowell, 2-0, in the opening round of the AE Tournament, then picked off No. 1 seed UAlbany in a 1-0 victory. In a thrilling final, Vermont secured a 3-2 victory over No. 2 seed New Hampshire. Sophomore Meg Weyer tallied twice in the win.

Miami comes into this contest after upsetting top-seeded James Madison in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) championship, 3-0. The Redhawks went 7-1 in conference play this season, and were red hot as they tore through the playoffs, securing their seventh straight MAC title. Miami is no stranger to the National Tournament, falling last season in the Second Round to Northwestern. 

Despite not matching up in recent history, the two teams do have several mutual opponents. Against Rutgers, Vermont lost 5-0, while Miami fell 6-1. At Michigan State, the Catamounts fell 3-1, while the Redhawks took a 2-1 overtime loss. Miami had a divisive 5-1 victory over Ohio, a match that Vermont lost 2-1 in overtime.

FINAL: VERMONT 1 - 2 MIAMI

Photo by Jeffrey A. Camarati

No. 1 North Carolina will host the winner of Delaware and Fairfield in Chapel Hill on Friday, November 15. It’s been a perfect season so far for the Tar Heels, who are 18-0 after clinching an eighth consecutive ACC title. A 4-1 win over Boston College, featuring goals from Ryleigh Heck and tournament MVP Charly Bruder, lifted North Carolina to their 27th all-time ACC trophy. The Tar Heels have won five of the past six NCAA Championships, including 2022 and 2023.

FINAL: NORTH CAROLINA 4 - 0 DELAWARE

In a battle of two strong teams who received at-large bids, Maryland and Duke will be competing in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Maryland enters the game 13-6, with their only two regular season Big Ten (B1G) losses coming at the hands of Ohio State and Northwestern. The Terps departed the B1G playoffs in the semifinals after a hard fought battle against Michigan. It took 80 minutes of play and a round of shootouts for a winner to be determined, as Maryland fell 4-3. With eight National Championship trophies in their back pocket, the Terps are ready to compete for a national title.

Duke comes into this matchup with a similar record of 12-6, finishing the regular season 6-2 in ACC play. Also similar to their upcoming opponent, the Blue Devils fell in their respective conference semifinals in a shootout – 2-1 to Boston College. Duke boasts a strong defensive line, with Frederique Wollaert manning the cage and putting up a 0.57 goals against average. 

The pair faced off earlier this season, all the way back on September 8 in the ACC/B1G Cup. Duke took a 1-0 victory.

FINAL: MARYLAND 0 - 1 DUKE

Photo by Northwestern Athletics

2023 NCAA runner-up Northwestern had a perfect 19-0 season record shattered by Michigan in the B1G championship match. The Wildcats had previously defeated the Wolverines in overtime, only to fall 1-0 last weekend. Northwestern will play their First Round match against the winner of Vermont and Miami (Ohio), and have the potential to rematch Michigan in the Second Round. There have been an abundance of accolades garnered by Wildcats this season, including B1G Player of the Year Maddie Zimmer, B1G Offensive Player of the Year Ashley Sessa, and Goalkeeper of the Year Annabel Skubisz.

FINAL: NORTHWESTERN 9 - 2 MIAMI (OH)

It will be another high octane First Round match-up when Virginia and Michigan clash in Lakeside, Ill. 

No. 6 Michigan is riding high off of their B1G championship win last weekend over No. 2 Northwestern. Throughout the conference tournament, the Wolverines took down three teams they had lost to earlier in the season, eventually claiming the program’s ninth B1G trophy. The defense played an outstanding tournament, with key plays from tournament MVP Lora Clarke and goalkeeper Hala Silverstein. The Wolverines are back in the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time after missing out last season. 

13-4 Virginia will be raring to play again after falling to Syracuse in the ACC quarterfinals. The Cavaliers made it all the way to the NCAA Semifinals in 2023, taking down Saint Joseph’s and Maryland on the way to a 2-0 loss to North Carolina.

These two giants have not played each other since 2016, when Virginia knocked Michigan out of the NCAA First Round.

FINAL: VIRGINA 2 - 1 MICHIGAN

Photo by UConn Athletics

After clinching an automatic spot in the NCAA Tournament with the BIG EAST title, UConn was selected as the No. 3 seed and regional host. The Huskies will welcome Massachusetts to Storrs, Conn. for the second time this season. The last meeting was back on October 20 and extremely evenly matched, with a penalty stroke goal by Julia Bressler in the third quarter being the difference maker for the Huskies. 

UConn won their conference title with a 1-0 win over Temple, in a style reminiscent of their win over the Minutewomen. In the tight match-up, Bressler sunk another third quarter penalty stroke to propel the Huskies to victory. UConn is back in the NCAA postseason after missing out the past three seasons, each after a one-goal loss in the BIG EAST conference tournament.

Despite dropping the A10 championship to Saint Joseph’s, Massachusetts got what they needed done during the season to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen went 7-0 in A10 conference play, even defeating the Hawks in overtime back in September. That combined with a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Boston College, a  2-1 shootout loss to No. 10 Harvard, and the 1-0 loss to No. 4 UConn showed just how well UMass can hang with the best. This will be the Minutewomen’s first NCAA berth since 2016.

FINAL: UCONN 1 - 2 UMASS

Harvard and Syracuse will meet in the NCAA Tournament First Round for their first postseason pairing since 2016. 

Now the two-time Ivy League champion, Harvard will compete in consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time in program history. The Crimson are now 15-3 and on a five-game win streak, taking three of those wins in overtime. The Ivy League championship win over Princeton saw both regulation goals come in the final three minutes, while first-year Martha le Hurray notched her second collegiate goal in overtime. The Crimson played No. 2 Northwestern to a narrow 3-2 loss earlier this fall, and picked up wins over No. 3 Saint Joseph’s and their site host No. 4 UConn.

Syracuse is in with the at-large berth following a 3-1 loss to North Carolina in the ACC semifinal. The loss came after a solid performance against Virginia in the quarterfinals – a 1-0 win for the Orange – after falling to the Cavaliers in shootouts a few weeks before. Syracuse has been invited back dancing for the 18th time, finishing out their 2023 season in the NCAA Quarterfinals against Duke.

FINAL: HARVARD 1 - 0 SYRACUSE

Photo by Joe Schneyder / Say Cheeze Studios

Saint Joseph’s locked up the fourth host site for the NCAA Tournament and will welcome Lafayette to Ellen Ryan Field for a First Round match.

After falling to Umass in the regular season, Saint Joseph’s took down the Minutewomen in the A10 final last Saturday, earning an automatic berth. Julia Duffhuis and Sol Borensztein each scored in the hard-fought 2-1 victory. Against top-ranked opponents this season, the Hawks have taken down Duke and Virginia, but fallen to Harvard and UConn – both in overtime. Saint Joseph’s 2023 season ended with a 2-1 loss to Virginia in the NCAA First Round.

Alternatively, Lafayette is headed to the NCAA Tournament after a hiatus, having made their last appearance in 2012. The Leopards earned their spot by defeating top-seeded American in the Patriot League Championship. Chasing a one goal deficit with just ten minutes to go, Lafayette earned a penalty stroke that was successfully made by Stella Malinowski, sending the match into overtime. It was another sophomore, Lea Good, who put away the win for the Leopards with a penalty corner deflection. Lafayette is currently 14-6 overall, and like Saint Joseph’s, fell to UMass by one goal in the regular season.

FINAL: SAINT JOSEPH'S 1 - 0 LAFAYETTE

Boston College and Princeton have only played against each other one time before – back in 1997 in the First Round of the National Tournament, where Princeton took a 3-2 victory. Now, over twenty years later, these two teams meet again, after each earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. 

Boston College enters the arena 14-6. The Eagles advanced to the ACC Championship game for the first time since 2019 after a shootout win over No. 2 seed Duke. Like in 2019, North Carolina ultimately came away with the title, but Boston College still made it through to the NCAA postseason. In the 4-1 defeat to the Tar Heels, the lone goal for the Eagles came from Klara Mueffelmann on a penalty corner. ACC Goalkeeper of the Year Charly Kramer, who has been crucial between the posts for Boston College, recorded five saves.

In Boston College’s last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019, the Eagles lost to North Carolina, 6-3, in the Semifinals.

Princeton comes into the contest 13-5 after conceding the Ivy League Championship to Harvard University, 2-1, in overtime. The heartbreaking loss came after a regular season conference sweep, in which the Tigers took down the Crimson in the same overtime score of 2-1. Princeton’s goal came from offensive threat Ella Cashman, who scored with only 59 seconds remaining to keep the hopes of a championship alive. Despite perseverance from the Tigers, Harvard was able to capitalize first in the sudden-victory style overtime.

Princeton last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2022, where they fell to Syracuse in the First Round. The Tigers have one NCAA Championship trophy in their history, defeating North Carolina back in 2012. 

FINAL: BOSTON COLLEGE 0 - 1 PRINCETON