Women's Soccer

#8 SJC to host #9 Elms in GNAC Play-In game

#8 SJC to host #9 Elms in GNAC Play-In game
Posted: Oct 25, 2023

WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales played to a perfect 15-0 [45 points] (15-2-3 overall) record in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play this year to earn the top seed in the 2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Championship Tournament.

The Wildcats are the three-time defending conference champions and are looking to add more hardware to the trophy case this season. This year is the third season in a row that JWU has completed the GNAC schedule without a loss and the second in a row that it have gone unbeaten and untied.

Placing second in the 2023 standings was Emmanuel, which played to a 14-1 [42 points] GNAC (16-2 overall) record to earn the No. 2 seed.

JWU and Emmanuel will await the winners of the two GNAC Play-In games, which are scheduled to take place on Thursday, Oct. 24. The hosts for those two matches are No. 7 seed Rivier (8-5-2 [26 points] GNAC, 9-6-3 overall) and No. 8 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) (6-4-5 [23 points], 6-6-5 overall). No. 10 seed Albertus Magnus (5-6-4 [19 points] GNAC, 6-6-5) will travel to the Raiders at 7 p.m., while No. 9 Elms (6-8-1 [19 points] GNAC, 7-9-1 overall) will visit the Monks at 6 p.m.

With Elms and Albertus tied in points at the end of the regular season, the league's tiebreaking procedure was needed to determine seeding. The two teams played to a 2-2 draw in their regular-season conference matchup offering no relief. The next step was number of conference wins, which gave the Blazers the edge with their six victories compared to the Falcons' five. 

The rest of the tournament field wait with the Wildcats and Saints in the quarterfinal round, which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28. No. 3 seed Lasell (10-3-2 [32 points] GNAC, 11-5-2 overall) will host No. 6 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (8-4-3 [27 points] GNAC, 8-6-3 overall) in one of the other quarterfinals with No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer (10-4-1 [31 points] GNAC, 11-6-3 overall) and No. 5 seed Regis (8-3-4 [28 points] GNAC, 9-4-4 overall) serving as the final matchup. In the quarterfinals, JWU will host the SJC-Elms winner and Emmanuel will host the winner of Rivier and Albertus.

The tournament will continue with the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The two semifinal winners will then compete for the GNAC title on Saturday, Nov. 4. The winner of the GNAC Championship match will be named the 2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.

 

2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament Schedule

Play-In – Thursday, Oct. 26 (Hosted by higher seeds)

#10 Albertus Magnus at #7 Rivier, 7 p.m.

#9 Elms at #8 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 6 p.m.

 

Quarterfinals – Saturday, Oct. 28 (Hosted by higher seeds)

#8/9 Winner at #1 Johnson & Wales, 6 p.m.

#7/10 Winner at #2 Emmanuel, 1 p.m.

#6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at #3 Lasell, 1:30 p.m.

#5 Regis at #4 Colby-Sawyer, Noon

 

Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 1 (Hosted by higher seeds)

#1/8/9 Winner vs. #4/5 Winner, TBD

#2/7/10 Winner vs. #3/6 Winner, TBD

 

Championship – Saturday, Nov. 4

Semifinal winners, TBD

 

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

 

COURTESY OF THE GNAC SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE

 

#GOMONKS

 

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Founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, Saint Joseph’s College is Maine’s Catholic liberal arts college in the Mercy tradition. We are inclusive of all faiths, including no faith. The 474-acre campus, located on the shore of Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine offers more than 40 undergraduate programs and a Division III athletic program to a population of approximately 1,000 on-campus students. A pioneer of distance education since the 1970s, the College also provides online certificates and undergraduate and graduate degrees for thousands more working adults who reside in more than 20 other countries. In 2015 the College was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to receive its Community Engagement Classification, highlighting the College’s focus on community service throughout its mission and daily interactions within local, regional, and global communities. In 2018, Princeton Review recognized SJC as one of its “Green Colleges” for its sustainability initiatives. Learn more at www.sjcme.edu.

 

 

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