NCAA Division III Tournament: Semifinals & Final

Kicking off this NCAA Championship weekend is a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Semifinal match-up. In fact, these two teams last faced off in the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament a few weeks ago. In that contest, Tufts would wind up upsetting Williams, 3-2, in a shootout victory. 

Tufts, the NESCAC Champions, punched their ticket to Lexington after winning in overtime 2-1 against Bates last weekend. It was another case of déjà vu for the Jumbos, who had defeated the Bobcats in shootouts in the NESCAC Championship the week prior. Kayleigh McDonald and Kylie Rosenquest were the two goal scorers for Tufts, while goalkeeper Lydia Eastburn was a critical component to their success.

Williams, who earned their spot in the National Tournament from an at-large bid, took down Wesleyan, 3-2, and then Messiah, 2-1, in the Quarterfinals to find themselves in Championship weekend. Pilar Torres scored both goals for the Ephs -- the first off an assist from Kiki Higgins and the second on a penalty stroke. Ellie Smith, the freshman goalkeeper and NESCAC Rookie of the Year, had seven huge saves. The Williams coaching staff, which includes head coach Alix Barrale and assistant coach Kate Lenox, was named NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year.

FINAL: TUFTS 1 - 0 (OT) WILLIAMS

Salisbury is back for their 39th NCAA Semifinal appearance after facing the only other member of their conference – Christopher Newport – for the third time this season. The Sea Gulls defied the rules of logic and defeated the Captains for a third time, coming out on top in shootouts 4-3 after winning by that same margin in the Coast-to-Coast (C2C) conference final. Marli McDorman scored the lone goal in regulation. Salisbury is back in the Semifinals for the first time since 2019, and they will be facing that same opponent – Middlebury. The Panthers defeated the Sea Gulls by a score of 1-0 in that match.

In an interesting twist, Middlebury comes in as the underdog for the first time in a long time, taking on the No. 1 Sea Gulls as the No. 2 seed. The six-time defending champions are 17-2 after defeating Bryn Mawr, 9-0, in the First Round and Johns Hopkins, 3-1, in the Second. The Panthers are powerful on both ends of the field, with NESCAC Offensive Player of the Year Caroline Segal and NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year Amy Griffin.

FINAL: SALISBURY 1 - 2 MIDDLEBURY

For the first time since 2018 — and a rematch of 2018 — it’s a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) NCAA Final match-up. Instead of facing Johns Hopkins, Middlebury will take on Tufts on Sunday in Lexington, Va. When these two teams last met, Tufts handed Middlebury their first loss of the season, snapping a 43-game win streak. Now, Middlebury will seek revenge.

This is only the fourth ever NCAA Final appearance for the Jumbos, last appearing in 2018. Tufts punched their ticket to the Championship game with a 1-0 overtime win over Williams on Friday. The game-winning goal came with three minutes left in the first round of overtime, as Lainie Pearson finished it off a pass from Kylie Rosenquest. This opportunity came off of a broken penalty corner attempt in which Pearson, who has been a key piece of the Tufts squad this season, notched just her second goal. The game between the Jumbos and the Ephs was highly defensive, with Tufts limiting Williams to just three shots on goal — all stopped by goalkeeper Lydia Eastburn, who was quintessential in securing the victory.

Middlebury played a close game between No. 1 ranked Salisbury in their Semifinal contest, but ultimately got the 2-1 edge late in the fourth quarter. Salisbury struck first with a goal from Arden Hunteman in the second quarter, but Middlebury was not deterred by having to make a comeback. The Panthers kept up offensive pressure, but went into halftime down 1-0.

Caroline Segal responded early in the third frame, nailing a backhand shot to tie up the match. It looked like Middlebury finally had the lead early into the start of the final quarter, but video replay determined that the ball hit a Panther foot, so it was recalled. It was Amy Griffin who found the game-winner late in the game off of a back-hand sweep. The Panther defense then locked it down to claim their seventh consecutive NCAA final appearance.