DIII: NO. 8 MESSIAH vs NO. 4 SALISBURY | 1:00 PM ET | GOMACSPORTS.TV
Two teams that reached the NCAA Quarterfinals a season ago meet in Grantham, Penn., this weekend: No. 4 Salisbury (3-0) travels to face No. 8 Messiah (2-0). The visiting Sea Gulls, winners of three straight against the Falcons, were one of a trio of teams that received first-place votes in the preseason Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll.
Salisbury has scored a remarkable 19 goals in three games, cruising past DePauw, Stockton, and Washington (Md.). Dating back to the start of last season, the Sea Gulls are 21-1 and have outscored their opponents by a 95-14 margin. Emma Radebaugh earned Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Offensive Player of the Week honors after four goals and an assist in her first two games. This will be the first of two road games against ranked opponents for the Seagulls with No. 2 Johns Hopkins awaiting on Wednesday.
Messiah, on the other hand, has dispatched a pair of Pennsylvania foes in Dickinson and Franklin and Marshall to start the year. The Falcons needed overtime in the opener, winning 3-2 behind Mallory Kline’s gamewinner. Kline earned the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week honor as a result. History isn’t on Messiah’s side heading into this matchup — they’ve loss three straight narrow games to the Sea Gulls, all decided by a single score.
DIII: NO. 1 MIDDLEBURY vs NO. 10 AMHERST | 2:00 PM ET | NSN
Continuing tradition, New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play kicks off early this season. No. 10 Amherst (1-0) will try their luck against the five-time reigning champions, No. 1 Middlebury (1-0), on Saturday afternoon.
For a team that has enjoyed dominating Division III over the last five years, it was only fitting that the Panthers started off their 2023 campaign with a 12-0 win. First Team All-American Katie George opened her senior season in style with four goals, while another big-name returner in Amy Griffin tallied a goal plus two assists. New offensive talent shone through with two goals from first year Shawna Ferraro.
Amherst opened up their season by defeating Smith, 6-1, at home. Senior Muffie Mazambani started off the season strong with two goals and an assist, while junior Sam Maynard picked up a goal and an assist. The Mammoths will need to see their defensive line on the top of their game on Saturday to take on the Panthers’ strong attack.
Despite playing each other every season, the Mammoths have not picked up a victory over the Panthers since 2011. Middlebury leads 24-5 in overall meetings after defeating Amherst, 3-1, in 2022.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
DI: NO. 6 VIRGINIA vs NO. 14 HARVARD | 12:00 PM ET | ACCNX ($)
After a road game against William & Mary on Friday, No. 6 Virginia (3-1) returns home for the first of five games against ranked opponents, starting with No. 14 Harvard (2-0). For the Crimson, it’ll be a third straight ranked opponent.
The Cavaliers already have a pair of top-25 wins, dispatching then-No. 5 Penn State in their opener and most recently knocking off No. 11 Saint Joseph’s, 2-1. Virginia did fall to No. 9 Liberty — Harvard’s opponent on Friday — but enter this weekend coming off of a 6-0 shutout of Temple. The Cavaliers are paced by Daniela Mendez-Trendler, who already has eight points with three goals and a pair of assists.
Harvard brings a 2-0 record into the weekend after winning an overtime thriller against then-No. 15 UConn. The Crimson, led by Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week Lucy Leel, traded blows with the Huskies in a four-goal third quarter that saw the teams enter overtime tied at two apiece. Marie Schaefers went on to score the gamewinner in the 70th minute. They’ll look to continue their success against ranked teams with a Friday matchup at No. 9 Liberty before taking on Virginia.
DI: NO. 13 DUKE vs NO. 9 LIBERTY | 1:00 PM ET | ACCNX ($)
Two teams up 12 spots collectively in this week’s Division I rankings, No. 13 Duke (2-1) and No. 9 Liberty (4-0), will face off on Sunday afternoon in Durham, N.C.
Throughout an impressive 4-0 start, Liberty has captured wins against Kent State, Indiana, No. 6 Virginia, and American. Their most recent victory over the Eagles came in a shootout after the two teams were stuck 0-0 after two overtime periods. Helping to propel the Flames was two saves in regulation and three crucial shootout saves from Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, who now ranks second in the nation in save percentage (.889) and picked up the NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honor. On the offensive end, graduate student Bethany Dykema tallied two goals and an assist in their 3-1 victory over Virginia, and now sits with six points.
At the ACC/B1G Cup last weekend, Duke made waves with a 2-1 win over No. 3 Maryland. The Blue Devils almost succeeded in following it up with another upset, but could not find the momentum to withstand No. 2 Northwestern – falling 3-2. Sophomore Alaina McVeigh and junior Logan Clouser tallied a goal in both matches.
When the pair last met in 2021, Liberty logged a 5-2 win. The Flames have claimed victory in the last two meetings, while the Blue Devils had won the first six between them.
by NCAA