Emory University will try to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships for the first time in school history, as the seventh-ranked Eagles will face the fifth-ranked Wheaton College (Ill.) Thunder on Friday at 2:30 PM EST in Abilene, TX.
The Sectional Round, which consists of third and quarterfinal round matches, will be hosted by Hardin-Simmons University. Also at the site, second-ranked Hardin-Simmons will play the University of Redlands at 12:00 PM EST on Friday. The winners of each match will meet in the quarterfinal round at 2:00 PM EST on Saturday, November 20th, also in Abilene.
Coverage
Live video and statistics will be available for all of the Sectional matches. Fans can access both links by going to the Sectional website.
Emory University Eagles
The Eagles are currently 16-1-3 this season, including a record of 2-0-1 in matches on neutral sites, and 5-0-1 in road games. Emory finished the regular season ranked seventh in the NSCAA poll, and eighth in the D3Soccer.com poll. The Eagles are riding a four-game winning streak, including three games that have been decided on 'golden goals' in overtime. Emory is paced offensively by freshman Kelly Costopoulos (seven goals and one assist), senior Lauren Smith (seven goals), and senior Melanie Levy (five goals and four assists). Defensively, Emory's backline has yet to allow more than eight shots on goal during a game this season, and has limited its opponents to three shots on goal or less in 11 of its 20 games this year. Eagles' sophomore goalkeepers Kaele Leonard and Erica Stein have split time the entire season, combining for a 0.47 goals-against average and 10 shutouts. Emory is led by head coach Sue Patberg, who is 80-20-15 during her six seasons with Emory.
- Emory by the Numbers (DIII Ranking in Parenthesis as of 11/14)
Goals per Game: 2.05 (145th)
Goals-Against Average: 0.473 (15th)
Shutout Percentage: 0.500 (64th)
Won-Lost-Tied Percentage: 0.875 (12th)
Save Percentage: 0.865 (35th)
Wheaton College Thunder
Wheaton is currently 20-2-1 this season, including a record of 7-2-0 in road matches. The Thunder have not lost since September 14th of this season, going 16-0-1 during the stretch. Wheaton was ranked fifth in the final NSCAA regular season poll, and fourth in the latest D3Soccer.com rankings. Wheaton's leading scorer this season is junior Jaime Orewiler, who has 17 goals and seven assists for 41 points, while junior Katelyn Kishkunas has a team-best 15 assists. Freshman Maddie Allen and sophomore Hilary Barreto have split time in goal, combining for 14 shutouts and a 0.47 goals against average. Wheaton head coach Pete Felske has an overall record of 363-93-23 during his 23 seasons with the Thunder.
- Wheaton by the Numbers (DIII Ranking in Parenthesis as of 11/14)
Goals per Game: 2.70 (59th)
Goals-Against Average: 0.474 (16th)
Shutout Percentage: 0.609 (25th)
Won-Lost-Tied Percentage: 0.891 (6th)
Save Percentage: 0.853 (57th)
Matchup History
Friday's game will be just the second meeting between the Eagles and the Thunder in the history of the two programs. The two teams previously met on a neutral site in Cary, NC on September 11, 2004, resulting in a 3-0 Wheaton victory.
Emory Notes
Emory is one win shy of matching the program record for victories, set in 2001… The Eagles' five 'golden goals' this season set a new program record… Emory is now 8-9-3 all time in NCAA Tournament games, including a 5-3-0 mark under Patberg's leadership… Emory has reached the Round of 16 six times, but has never advanced further… Should she appear on Friday, Emory senior Melanie Levy will have 80 career games played, matching the school record set by former Eagle Whitney West (1995-98)… Levy has started 74 games over her career, the third-most in school history and just three behind the school record… Goalkeeper Kaele Leonard currently ranks sixth in Division III in save percentage, and 10th in goals against average… Leonard's .366 goals against average is the second-lowest single season total in school history, and her .915 save percentage is the third-best mark… Freshman defender Lauren Gorodetsky is just 39 minutes shy of the school record for minutes played in a single season… Emory's starting defensive backline of sophomore Ashley Kaiser and freshmen Lauren Drosick and Lauren Gorodetsky were named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Defensive Athletes of the Week, while senior Meghan McMahon earned the Offensive Player of the Week honor… McMahon, who scored the game-winning 'golden goal' against Lynchburg College, became the first player in Emory history to have multiple game-winning goals over a career in the NCAA Tournament… Freshman Kelly Costopoulos and McMahon are tied for Emory's all-time lead, along with four other former Eagles, with two NCAA goals.