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WATERVILLE, Maine – The 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament began last weekend, with Colby College serving as a host site to twelve teams through the Second and Regional rounds of play. On Saturday, May 15th, Colby will welcome back the four winning teams from the May 8th and 9th Second Round games on Alfond Field, Western Connecticut State University, The College of New Jersey, Roger Williams University and Tufts University for the "Sweet 16" round of Regional play, in addition to the two Second Round winners from the Rhodes bracket and the two winners from the Franklin & Marshall bracket. Coming from Rhodes to play each other in the Sweet 16 will be SUNY Cortland and Messiah University, and coming from Franklin & Marshall are St. John Fisher College and William Smith College.
Bill Alfond Field will see four consecutive Sweet 16 games, to be played at 11:00AM, 2:00PM, 5:00PM and 8:00PM on May 15th. The four winners will return to Colby to play on Sunday, May 16th in the Elite 8 round for a chance to move on to the Final Four.
The 2021 tournament consists of 37 teams from around the country, 33 of which secured an automatic qualifier by way of conference championship wins. There are three teams that received at-large bids and one Pool B qualifier in this year's tournament, a significantly lower number from years past, due to amendments resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Colby College is extremely proud to host the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament which ushers in a significant amount of business to the greater Waterville community. By partnering with the NCAA to host this event, Colby has secured over 700 rooms at 8 Waterville/Augusta area hotels, and each participating team will undoubtedly lean on local establishments for pre and post-competition dining. Colby looks forward to continuing to support the local economy by serving as a top-level host for national and regional events in future years.
May 15th - Sweet 16 Games
St. John Fisher vs. William Smith
Saturday, May 15th at 11:00AM – Bill Alfond Field
The SJF Scout: The Cardinals, ranked #9 in the IWLCA Coaches Poll, come to Colby for Regionals with a 16-1 record that includes wins over three nationally ranked opponents, one of which was a 7-6 victory over William Smith on March 20
th. St. John Fisher's 13-3 win over Nazareth marks the 11
th NCAA Appearance and Empire 8 title in program history.
Conference: Empire 8
Record: 16-1
Head Coach: Linda Michele (10
th Season)
Key Wins: #6 Catholic (by 6), Nazareth (by 10), #18 (by 1, 2OT), #17 William Smith (by 1)
Strong Performers: Logan Chase and
Sydney DeGirolamo produced a hat trick each in SJF's 15-9 over the 6
th-ranked Catholic University in the Second Round of the NCAAs. DeGirolamo leads the Cardinals in scoring with 67 points (32G, 35A), while
Brittany Halpin and
Alyssa Sproule have posted 58 and 54 points this season, respectively.
The William Smith Scout: 16
th-ranked William Smith looks to avenge a one-goal loss to St. John Fisher back in March after they upset the top-ranked Franklin and Marshall, 13-5, last weekend in the NCAA Second Round. The Herons earned the Liberty League's Automatic Qualifier to the tournament after another upset win, as they beat the #7 team in the country, Ithaca, 17-13 in the LL Finals.
Conference: Liberty League
Record: 10-4
Head Coach: Anne Phillips (6
th Season)
Key Wins: #1 Franklin and Marshall (by 8), Meredith (by 16), #11 Ithaca (by 4)
Strong Performers: Kelsey Williams and
Anna Murphy combined for 8 points in the Herons' Second Round win over F & M, with Williams netting four and Murphy scoring three and adding an assist.
Maddie Montgomery leads William Smith in scoring with 56 points (48G, 8A) and tallied 6 goals and 1 assist in the Liberty League championship vs. Ithaca.
Messiah vs. SUNY Cortland
Saturday, May 15th at 2:00PM – Bill Alfond Field
The Messiah Scout: Messiah makes it into the Sweet 16 this weekend, after a commanding, 17-goal win over Illinois Wesleyan in the Second Round after receiving a First Round bye. The Falcons claimed the MAC-Commonwealth with their second win over #15 York College of PA of the season.
Conference: Mid Atlantic Conference – Commonwealth (MAC-Commonwealth)
Record: 17-0
Head Coach: Heather McKay (14
th Season)
Key Wins: #15 York PA (by 7, by 6), Stevenson (by 2)
Strong Performers: MAC-Commonwealth Player of the Year
Rachel Delate totals 116 points with 58 goals and 58 assists on the season, including an impressive 5 goals and 4 assists in the MAC-C Championship over York and 8 points in the Falcons' Second Round win over Ill. Wesleyan.
The Cortland Scout: #13 SUNY Cortland looks to win a second National Championship in 6 years after defeating Brockport to claim their 22
nd SUNYAC title and 23
rd NCAA Appearance. The Red Dragons cruised to a spot in NCAA Regional play with an 18-5 first round win over Transylvania and 23-12 Second Round win over Rhodes. Cortland enters the weekend with momentum, coming off 12 straight victories.
Conference: State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC)
Record: 14-1
Head Coach: Carissa Medeiros (1
st Season)
Key Wins: Rhodes (by 11), #17 Brockport (by 2), #18 Geneseo (by 4)
Strong Performers: Hannah Lorenzen (56G, 18A) and
Toni Cashman (34G, 6A) lead the charge against the Brockport defense in the SUNYAC finals, each scoring 5 goals.
Cecilia Precopio comes in at second in the Red Dragon scoring, just behind Lorenzen with 12 goals and 35 assists.
Western Conn. State vs. TCNJ
Saturday, May 15th at 5:00PM – Bill Alfond Field
The WestConn Scout: Western Connecticut State's offense came alive for a 20-5 victory over Johnson and Wales in the Second Round of the tournament last weekend at Bill Alfond Field. The Colonials claimed their first Little East Conference title and NCAA Appearance in program history after defeating Plymouth State University in the conference championship, 13-3.
Conference: Little East Conference
Record: 10-0
Head Coach: Meghan Els (1
st Season)
Key Wins: Johnson and Wales (by 15), Plymouth State (by 10), Keene State (by 3), Plymouth State (by 5)
Strong Performers: Senior attacker
Caroline Galligan leads the team with 46 points, including a season-high 8 points (5G, 2A) in the Little East Championship vs. Plymouth State. Junior Attack
Dominique DeMarsico scored 10 goals and had 2 assists in the Colonials' semifinal win over Keene State, and sophomore goalie
Anna Schipf posted 47 saves as the starter in all 9 games in 2021 for a .547 save percentage.
The TCNJ Scout:The College of New Jersey is no stranger to the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Tournament, as the Lions headed to Waterville with 35 tournament appearances under their belt and 13 National Championships in program history. The 15
th- ranked TCNJ defeated Rowan and #23 Montclair State in the NJAC postseason to claim their 2021 bid before handing Babson a 21-9 loss in the Second Round to advance to Regionals.
Conference: New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC)
Record: 8-2
Head Coach: Sharon Pfluger (37
th Season)
Key Wins: Babson (by 12), #23 Montclair State (by 10), Rowan (by 7),
Strong Performers: NJAC Rookie of the Year
Jillian Westerby scored 6 times in the conference championship game and has recorded 50 draw controls on the season thus far. Leading the way for the Lions in the points category are senior middie
Erin Jaffe (39G, 6A), who leads the NJAC in goals per game, and junior attacker
Jennifer LaRocca (27G, 13A).
Roger Williams vs. Tufts
Saturday, May 15th at 8:00PM – Bill Alfond Field
The Roger Williams Scout: Roger Williams moves on to Regionals after picking up an 18-13 win over Westfield State University in the Second Round. The top-seeded RWU Hawks entered the Commonwealth Coast Championship with a 5-0 record before claiming their second conference title in program history with a 14-8 win over Endicott. A strong team defensively, Roger Williams leads the CCC in caused turnovers as they pick up their first finals win in four years after three consecutive runners-up statuses.
Conference: Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC)
Record: 7-0
Head Coach: Jen Fox Sargent (4th Season)
Key Wins: Westfield State (by 5), Endicott (by 6)
Strong Performers: Ryleigh Cavanaugh (16G, 10A) and
Julia Kelley (10G, 13A) scored four goals each in the Second Round RWU win over Westfield State, and Hawks leading scorer
Lauren Flahive (23G, 8A) and sophomore attacker
Lily Cunningham (21G, 2A) scored 5 goals apiece in their championship win over Endicott. First year defender
Kate Shultz leads the Roger Williams defensive unit with 13 caused turnovers and 16 ground balls.
The Tufts Scout: Tufts enters the Sweet 16 by way of a 23-7 win over Cabrini University in the Second Round. The Tufts University Jumbos rank 3
rd nationally and claimed the 2021 NESCAC crown after defeating #11 Wesleyan, 14-3, in the conference title game. The first NESCAC title in Jumbos women's lacrosse history comes following a 5-0 regular season as well as a NESCAC Finals and NCAA Final Four appearance in 2019.
Conference: New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
Record: 7-0
Head Coach: Courtney Shute (8
th Season)
Key Wins: Cabrini (by 16), #11 Wesleyan (by 11), #7 Colby (by 6)
Strong Performers: Junior goalie
Molly Laliberty has been an anchor for the Tufts defense with an impressive .667 save percentage on the season and 13 NESCAC championship game and 15 Second Round saves. On the other end of the field, senior attacker
Catherine Lawliss has been a consistent offensive threat, averaging 5.5 points per game and 4 goals per game coming into NCAAs, both good enough for 1st conference-wide. Lawliss put up 5 goals and 3 assists vs. Cabrini in Second Round play.
NCAA Second Round Games – May 8th and 9th, 2021:
Western Connecticut State vs. Johnson and Wales (Providence)
Saturday, May 8th at 2:00PM – Bill Alfond Field
WCSU 20 - JWU 5
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Babson vs. TCNJ
Saturday, May 8th at 5:00PM – Bill Alfond Field
TCNJ 21 - Babson 9
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Westfield State vs. Roger Williams
Sunday, May 9th at 11:30AM – Bill Alfond Field
RWU 18 - WSU 13
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Tufts vs. Cabrini
Sunday, May 9th at 2:30PM – Bill Alfond Field
Tufts 23 - Cabrini 7
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