Division II College Games: 2023 Conference Tournaments

HOST: HIGHER SEED | OCT 31, NOV 3 & 5

In last year’s NE10 tournament, all seven games were decided by a single goal — and three went to double overtime. Expect similar fireworks in this year’s edition, which opens with quarterfinals on Halloween and features two ranked teams, last year’s winner, and the conference’s all-time leader in championships.

Regular season champion and No. 8 Assumption won the title the last time they were the No. 1 seed (back in 2021) and will hope to repeat that feat. The Greyhounds won 12 of 13 conference games, the lone setback a loss in shootouts against Saint Anselm to end the regular season. They draw Franklin Pierce in the first round — a team they beat, 6-1, back in early October. The Ravens did pull off an impressive 2-1 win over a ranked Saint Anselm side in September, so a first-round upset isn’t off the table.

Saint Anselm — ahead of Assumption in the national polls at No. 6 — has now won seven straight games and has a resume that features wins over then-No. 3 West Chester and the current top team, Shippensburg. The Hawks draw Mercy in the first round, who they beat 5-2 last Tuesday and have won the last eight games against. If the Mavericks are to advance, they’ll be looking for a big game from forward Rachel Palladino — she finished tied for third in the NE10 with 14 goals.

Third-seeded Bentley has proven to have one of the conference’s top defenses, allowing just over a goal per game with goalie Mia Trottie, the NE10’s leader in goals against average. The Falcons have won four straight, a run that includes a 3-0 shutout of quarterfinal opponent Adelphi. The Panthers won last year’s NE10 title and did so as the No. 4 seed, so they’ll aim to play spoiler again. Adelphi beat the No. 5, 1, and 7 seeds en route to the title. 

In the other quarterfinal, it’s about offense: No. 4 Pace led the league with 3.5 goals per game and feature top goalscorer Krista Dietz (23 goals), the reigning NE10 Rookie of the Year. The third-highest scoring team? No. 5 Southern New Hampshire and Minke van de Poll (14 goals). It should be a fantastic matchup in what was a dramatic 3-2 overtime win for Pace the last time around.

With last year’s close games in mind and the stage set, the quarterfinals should provide four high-quality matches. The semifinals follow on Friday before the championship on Sunday, November 5.

HOST: HIGHER SEED | OCT 31, NOV 3 & 5

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) begins their conference tournament alongside the rest of Division II on Tuesday, October 31. This postseason will look a little different than last season, swapping out Millersville and consistent contender West Chester with IUP and Mansfield – the former last appearing in the PSAC tournament in 2021 and the latter in 2019. Every team participating except for IUP is currently ranked in the top-ten in Division II – No. 1 Shippensburg, No. 2 East Stroudsburg, No. 3 Kutztown, No. 4 Bloomsburg, and No. 10 Mansfield.

The two quarterfinal matches will feature No. 4 Mansfield hosting No. 5 Bloomsburg and No. 3 Kutztown hosting No. 6 IUP. Previously the top PSAC seed in 2022, Kutztown fell only to No. 1 East Stroudsburg and No. 2 Shippensburg in all their games this season. 

Against IUP earlier this fall, the Golden Bears won 5-0. Kutztown allowed just seven goals all year with Mia Kepler in cage — the conference’s leader in goals against average (0.44) and shutouts (10). She’ll be tested by IUP’s Jess Davidson, who netted four game-winning goals and finished tied for fifth in the PSAC with 11 goals.

No. 4 Mansfield and No. 5 Bloomsburg each finished with a 5-4 record in conference, but Mansfield claimed a 4-3 victory over the Huskies in a heated contest earlier this season. Alex Esterling scored twice for the Mounties in that win — including the game-winner at the end of regulation — and finished the season fourth in the PSAC in points with a 14-goal, four-assist campaign. Bloomsburg’s Emily Swineford, who scored to put the Huskies up 3-2 in that matchup, had a similarly strong year with 11 goals and a trio of assists.

Reigning Division II champion East Stroudsburg claimed the No. 1 seed with a 8-1 conference record – their lone loss to Bloomsburg in early October. The Warriors only other loss this season was to non-conference opponent Pace – a surprising 4-3 loss for a defense that only allowed 14 goals total on the season, and only one other game that was more than one goal allowed. The Warriors closed the year on a five-game winning steak and finished the year with the PSAC’s top scoring offense (3.7 goals per game) and second-best defense (0.8 goals allowed per game). They’ll face the winner of Mansfield and Bloomsburg.

The second seed belongs to Shippensburg, who fell in last year’s national title game and their lone PSAC loss came to the Warriors. The Raiders have three of the PSAC’s top five in points: Tess Jedeloo (17 goals, nine assists), Agus Garibaldi (13 goals, 12 assists), and Yasmin De Meyer (10 goals, two assists). After winning in 2021, Shippensburg was eliminated in the semifinals of last year’s PSAC tournament and will aim to avenge that setback and set a course for a sixth national title. They’ll face the winner of IUP and Kutztown, having beaten both teams by 3-0 and 3-2 margins in the regular season, respectively.

The championship is scheduled for Sunday, November 5.

HOST: HIGHER SEED/MOUNT OLIVE | OCT 31, NOV 3 & 5

After reaching the SAC Championship Game in just its fourth season as a program, Mount Olive claimed the regular season title in an unbeaten fashion as a follow up and will look to secure the hardware for the first time. Ranked fifth nationally, the Trojans will serve as hosts for the semifinal and championship round of this year’s edition of the SAC Championship.

Mount Olive, under head coach Daan Polders, have skyrocketed since winning one game in their debut. The Trojans went 14-4 a year ago and have gone 15-1 as an encore, earning a first-round bye in the playoffs once again. They lead the conference in scoring (4.1 goals per game) and have won 15 straight games since a season-opening loss to current No. 1 Shippensburg. 

Newberry earned the other first-round bye and have three of the conference’s top four in points — Emma Westbrook (21 goals, 4 assists), Tamsin Bangert (14 goals, 10 assists), and Parker Keeler (12 goals, 5 assists).

The semifinals on Halloween feature two intriguing games. Mount Olive draws the winner of Lander and Belmont Abbey — two teams that played a double-overtime thriller in mid-September. The fourth-seeded Bearcats won with a 77th minute goal. The Crusaders are intriguing having won three of their last four — including a 4-2 win over Newberry. The No. 2 Wolves await the victor of Limestone and Converse, with the latter the conference’s defending champion. The Saints beat Converse twice by identical 1-0 scorelines with one coming in overtime. They won seven of eight to end the year with the lone setback against Mount Olive.

Last year saw a double-overtime semifinal and a championship that was decided in overtime. With the quality of teams competing in this year’s six-team bracket, expect similar results. The championship is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 5.