ITHACA’S INVITATION: The Ithaca College women’s soccer team (14-4-1) has been selected for the NCAA playoffs. The Bombers, champions of the Empire 8, will compete in a four-team regional this weekend at William Smith. Ithaca takes on Muhlenberg (12-6-0) at 1:30 p.m. in the second of Saturday’s semifinals, with the host Herons (13-3-2) facing Simmons (12-5-3) at 11 a.m. in the other. The regional final is scheduled Sunday at a time to be announced.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for each game, as set by the NCAA, will be $6 for adults; $3 for students with ID, senior citizens and military personnel; and $2 for children under 12.
SERIES RESULTS: The Bombers have never faced Muhlenberg. Ithaca has played Simmons twice, beating the Sharks 3-0 in both 2001 and 2004. The Bombers and William Smith have played 25 times with the Herons leading the series 14-8-3. The teams have met three times in the NCAA playoffs; all three have come in the regional finals. Host Ithaca won in 1996 (3-0) and 1998 (2-1) and William Smith posted a 1-0 overtime win over the visiting Bombers in 1993.
ITHACA VS. 2009 NCAA PLAYOFF FIELD: The Bombers faced four NCAA playoff teams this fall, going 1-2-1. Ithaca beat Oneonta 3-0, tied Skidmore 0-0 in overtime and lost to William Smith (1-0 in two overtimes) and Messiah (4-1).
ITHACA IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Bombers are making their 20th appearance in the NCAA playoffs; no school has made more (William Smith has also made 20). The last 13 playoff bids have come under Mindy Quigg. Ithaca is 24-14-7 in NCAA playoff competition (four of the seven ties resulted in the Bombers advancing on penalty kicks; in the other three, Ithaca was eliminated in penalty kicks). The program’s four straight trips to the NCAA semifinals from 1988 through 1991 (a streak matched by two other teams) was highlighted by consecutive national titles in 1990 and 1991. Last year Ithaca reached the national quarterfinals by topping Westfield State 6-0 and beating Roger Williams and Lynchburg 2-0 before losing 2-0 to Williams. The 2007 team also reached the quarterfinals, beating Bowdon 2-0, then posting 1-0 wins over Wheaton (Mass.) and Wittenberg before losing 3-1 to Messiah.
THE 2009 NCAA PLAYOFFS: The Division III championship provides for a 63-team, single-elimination tournament that includes 40 winners of conferences whose champions earn automatic qualification (including William Smith, who received the Liberty League’s automatic bid), 21 teams from those conferences who did not win their conference title (including Muhlenberg lost in the Centennial Conference semifinals) and two teams that are either independents or members of conferences whose champions do not receive automatic bids. Following this weekend’s regional round, four schools will host four-team sectionals, to be held Nov. 20-22. The four sectional winners advance to the semifinals and final, Dec. 4 and 5. All games will be played on the campuses of participating institutions until the “final four”, which will be held at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.
ITHACA LEADERS: The Bombers are making their 20th appearance in the NCAA playoffs – no school has made more – and sixth in a row. The Bombers have scored 53 goals this fall, led by the high-scoring trio of freshman forward Rachael Palladino (Groton/Lansing), senior midfielder Amy Scheffer (Schalmont/Schenectady) and forward Lauren Koppel (Southside/Rockville Center), a graduate student. Palladino has 12 goals and seven assists for 31 points – all three totals are Bomber freshman records. Scheffer, a third-team all-American in 2008, has 13 goals and three assists. She and Koppel shared tournament MVP honors following the Empire 8 playoffs. Koppel has 11 goals and five assists. Sophomore Megan Trager (Sharon/Sharon, Mass.) has scored 11 points (two goals, seven assists) with senior forward Winnie Adrien (Blairstown Academy/Selden) and freshman midfielder Julie Winn (Sutton/Sutton, Mass.) adding 10 apiece. Senior midfielder Emily Mogk (Bozeman/Bozeman, Mont.) leads the team with eight assists; Ithaca’s 43 assists are one short of the school record set last fall. Senior Liz Masucci (New Providence/New Providence, N.J.), junior Andrea Janda (Sterling/West Boylston, Mass.) and sophomore Andi Roach (Central Bucks East/Doylestown, Pa.) anchor a defense that has allowed just over three shots on goal per game. Juniors Jessica Platt (Monument Mountain/New Marlborough, Mass.) and Alyssa Sotomayor (East Brunswick/East Brunswick, N.J.) have combined for a 0.83 goals-against average while posting 10 shutouts. The team has recorded at least 10 shutouts 20 times in the past 23 years. Coach Mindy Quigg is in her 16th year at Ithaca. The program's winningest coach (213-70-37), she has led the Bombers to 15 postseason appearances, including 13 NCAA playoff berths.
Complete NCAA playoff bracket