NCAA Division II Tournament: First Round

*Team listed first is home

Limestone will make their NCAA Tournament debut against five-time National Champion Shippensburg in a First Round match-up.

Just a few years out from their latest NCAA Championship crown, No. 1 Shippensburg is looking strong once again. The Raiders are 18-1 overall after winning the PSAC Championship in overtime against No.2 East Stroudsburg. The title was just their second in program history, but this trip to the NCAA Tournament will be their 18th all-time. 

Shippensburg is 10-0 against nationally ranked opponents this season, including fellow tournament selections Kutztown, Bloomsburg, Assumption, and ESU. The Raiders only defeat was a 1-0 overtime loss to fellow PSAC member IUP. Shippensburg boasts some of the best offense and defense in the nation, with goalkeeper Emma Albee leading Division II in save percentage (0.872) and Agus Garibaldi sitting fourth in points per game (2.16). 

It’s a historic moment for No. 10 Limestone, whose NCAA postseason debut follows their first-ever SAC Championship. The win last Sunday was decided in shootouts after seeing no goals from the Saints or their opponent, Mount Olive in 80 minutes of play.

Junior Tereza Koprivova proved to be crucial in goal, making way for Victoria Gonzalez Lopez and Felicitas Herrero Martel to tie up and win the shootouts. Limestone is 14-5 – their best record since 2019 – and on a six game win streak.

The last meeting for the Raiders and the Saints was in 2022, when Shippensburg took a 9-0 victory.

The last time these two foes met in the NCAA Tournament was in 2019, when Kutztown defeated Southern New Hampshire in shootouts to advance to the Semifinals. This year, Southern New Hampshire looks to upset the reigning National Champions.

Southern New Hampshire enters this contest after receiving an at-large bid to play in the tournament. Currently holding an impressive 16-3 record, the Penmen's most recent loss was in the NE10 semifinal game against Saint Anselm. The other two came at the hands of Assumption and looming opponent, Kutztown. The 5-2 loss to the Golden Bears was all the way back on September 14. Offense is a strength for Southern New Hampshire, who has outshot their opponents 69-17 this season and has the national leader in points per game (3.79) and goals per game (1.53), Annemartine Christis. The senior found the back of the net twice against Kutztown.

Kutztown comes into this game looking to claim a second straight NCAA Title. It is the second consecutive Tournament appearance and eighth overall for the Golden Bears. Kutztown is 14-5 overall this season, and also fell in their repsective conference semifinal. It was a 2-0 loss to East Stroudsburg after defeating Mansfield, 3-2, in shootouts in the PSAC quarterfinals.

It’s a PSAC matchup between East Stroudsburg and Bloomsburg in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

In their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, East Stroudsburg looks to capture its third national title. Their most recent came in 2022, when they took down 2021 Champion Shippensburg, 1-0. This year, the Warriors took down Kutztown in the PSAC semifinals, and then fell in overtime to the No. 1 Raiders, 1-0. Jady van Gils and Minke Klijn have been key contributors for the Warrior offense this season, combining for 24 goals and 62 points. East Stroudsburg has split who has been in the cage for many of their games this year, with sophomores Sydney Pope and Jet Vermeulen both spending time in net.

After a 13-year hiatus from playing in the national tournament, the Huskies are finally back and ready to compete for a National Title. Bloomsburg finished 6-3 in PSAC play and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason after losing to Shippensburg in the PSAC semifinals. Four Huskies garnered All-PSAC accolades, with offensive leaders Aydan McFarland and Kara Koch picking up First Team selections.

When these two teams met this season, it was a close 3-2 match that ended with a sudden-victory overtime goal from ESU's Bella Viruet.

It will be a familiar meeting for Assumption and Saint Anselm, two of the three NE10 teams featured in this year’s Division II NCAA Tournament field. Just like in 2023, the duo will be playing each other for the third time in the season in an NCAA Tournament First Round game. Last fall, Saint Anselm won the regular season match-up and the NE10 Championship against Assumption, only to fall to the Greyhounds in the First Round. This year, Assumption was victorious in both the regular season match and NE10 title game. 

The NE10 Championship win for Assumption this year was a dominant one – Elle Murray tallied a pair of goals and Mia Salah notched the third in the 3-0 victory. The Greyhounds sit at 18-3 overall and have not dropped a game since September 19 to Bentley. The only other two losses were to No. 1 Shippensburg and No. 6 So. New Hampshire.

No. 8 Saint Anselm is making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, getting back out on the field after falling to Assumption in the conference final. The Hawks had made their way to that match after defeating Pace, 5-4, and shutting out So. New Hampshire, 3-0. 

In all time meetings, Assumption has a slight 20-19 advantage.