The seventh-ranked Emory University women's soccer team will open the NCAA Division III Championships on Saturday at 11:00 AM, hosting Maryville College (Tenn.) in its first-round match.
The match will be one of three women's soccer games during the weekend at Emory. Following the Emory-Maryville match, 19th-ranked Lynchburg College will face Transylvania University at 1:30 PM on Saturday. The winners of each match will face in the second round of the tournament at the Woodruff P.E. Center on Sunday at 1:00 PM.
Coverage
All three games will be webcasted at http://go.emory.edu/Webcasts/WSoccWebcast.html. RealPlayer version 10 or newer is needed to watch the webcast, and can be downloaded for free at www.real.com. Live-updating statistics for the games are available at http://go.emory.edu/LiveStats/WSocc/XLIVE.HTM.
Tickets
Ticket prices for the games will weekend will be as follows:
General Admission - $6.00
Student w/ ID - $3.00
Senior Citizens - $3.00
Children (3-12) - $2.00
Children under 2 - Free
Emory University Eagles
Emory will enter the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 14-1-3, including a 7-1-1 record at home this season. The Eagles qualified for the Tournament with a Pool C bid (consisting of teams that did not win their conference's automatic bid), after finishing the season second in the University Athletic Association with a 4-1-2 conference record. Emory's leading scorers this season are seniors Lauren Smith (seven goals for 14 points) and Melanie Levy (five goals and four assists for 14 points). Defensively, sophomore goalkeepers Erica Stein and Kaele Leonard have split time, with Leonard ranking ninth among Division III players with a 0.909 save percentage and 14th with a 0.409 goals-against average. Emory's backline has allowed just 3.8 shots on goal per game this season, including nine games this season of three or less shots on goal allowed. The Eagles are led by head coach Sue Patberg, who is 78-20-15 during her six seasons with the team.
- Emory by the Numbers (Division III Rank in Parenthesis – as of 11/07)
Goals per Game – 2.11 (137th)
Goals-Against Average – 0.527 (25th)
Shutout Percentage – 0.444 (108th)
Won-Lost-Tied Percentage – 0.861 (15th)
Save Percentage – 0.857 (50th)
Maryville College Scots
Maryville currently stands at 13-5-1, including an impressive 6-1-1 record in road matches this season. The Scots qualified for the tournament with a Pool A bid, after winning the Great South Athletic Conference Championship last weekend. The Scots have been on a hot streak as of late, winning 11 of their last 12 games, including 10 shutouts and four-straight games. Maryville is paced offensively by all-conference freshman Ashley Howarth (21 goals and four assists for 46 points) and senior Jessica Petersen (18 goals and 10 assists for 46 points), while all-conference defenders Kelsie Kestner and Jordan Chase helped junior goalkeeper Desiree Simmons to a 0.79 goals-against average. Maryville is led by head coach Pepe Fernandez, who is 248-107-24 during his 22 seasons with the team.
- Maryville by the Numbers (Division III Rank in Parenthesis – as of 11/07)
Goals per Game – 2.79 (49th)
Goals-Against Average – 0.724 (60th)
Shutout Percentage – 0.579 (35th)
Won-Lost-Tied Percentage – 0.711 (74th)
Save Percentage – 0.873 (27th)
Matchup History
Emory and Maryville met earlier in the season in Maryville, TN, with the Eagles coming away with a 3-1 victory. In the game, after falling behind 1-0 in the first half on a goal by Howarth, the Eagles tied the match just before the end of the period with a Kelly Costopoulos goal in the 43rd minute. Emory added goals in the second half on a penalty kick from Emily Rubin and a long shot from Lauren Gorodetsky. Freshman Clare Mullins assisted on two of the Emory goals in the game. The contest was an extremely physical one, with the two teams combining for 25 fouls, and the Scots totaling four cards, including one red.
Overall, Emory is 9-1-2 all time against Maryville, including a 4-0-2 mark at the Woodruff P.E. Center. The two teams have met once before in the NCAA Tournament, with the Eagles defeating the Scots 2-0 in Maryville during the first round of the 2004 draw.
Emory Notes
Emory has gone 6-5-3 in NCAA Tournament games since the 2000 season, including a 3-3-0 mark in three NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach Sue Patberg… The Eagles are 6-9-3 overall in NCAA Tournament play… This is Emory's first home NCAA women's soccer game since 2007, when the Eagles defeated Hardin-Simmons University 1-0 in the round of 32… Emory is 3-2-1 all time in NCAA Tournament games at home… The Eagles have just one loss through 18 games for the fourth time in school history… Emory also had just one loss through 18 games in 1998 (13-1-4), 2001 (16-1-1), and 2007 (15-1-2)… Should Emory and Lynchburg both advance, it will be the seventh meeting between the teams since 2004, four of which will have occurred during the NCAA Tournament… Emory's Lauren Smith scored the 'golden goal' on a penalty kick during the team's 2-1 victory over Carnegie Mellon University in their regular-season finale on Sunday… It was the second penalty kick 'golden goal' in Emory history… The Eagles have matched a program record with four 'golden goals' this season… Smith became just the second player in the program's history to have multiple 'golden goals' in one season (she scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Lee University in the season opener), and trails only former Eagles Caroline Hoit and Nancy Wilson for career 'golden goals,' who each had three over their careers… All three of Wilson's 'golden goals' came during the 2005 season, including one in an NCAA Tournament game, the only post-season 'golden goal' in Emory history.