Women's Soccer 2014 NCAA Tournament #2 Penn State / #3 West Virginia Regional Breakdown
Penn State, along with West Virginia headline this regional, as they occupy the number two and three seeds, respectively. However, there are some very intriguing opening round matches with Georgetown battling West Virginia and Virginia Tech battling a dangerous Dayton side. This region could be a bit unpredictable due to the parity of the matchups.
#3 West Virginia vs. Georgetown
These two sides faced off earlier in the season on September 12th and battled each other to a 1-1 draw. West Virginia won the Big 12 regular season and conference tournament championships and has continually gotten stronger all season long. Freshman midfielder/defender Michaela Abam and senior forward Kate Schwindel lead the way for the Mountaineers, as they have combined for 15 goals this season. The Hoyas are led by senior midfielder Daphne Corboz. She has scored ten goals and dished out 18 assists on the season. This is going to be one of the more closely contested opening round matches unless the Mountaineers get rolling and finish multiple quality scoring chances.
Virginia Tech vs. Dayton
The Hokies come into the NCAA Tournament playing a bit better at the end of the season. This team is very battle tested as several players from last year’s trip to the College Cup are key players for Virginia Tech. Sophomore forward Murielle Tiernan has led the Hokies attack with eleven goals and has buried teams in the opening half of matches this season. Virginia Tech has outscored teams 27-3 in the first half this year. Dayton knocked off LaSalle to clinch the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament automatic bid. The Flyers play an exciting brand of soccer as they battled national seeded Texas A&M to a 4-3 loss in the season opener. They did struggle with Stanford in an 8-0 loss in Palo Alto, but overall they can score with most teams. Junior forward Ashley Campbell and junior midfielder Nicole Waters are the sparkplug for this dynamic attack for the Flyers. This should a very high scoring match.
The Huskies come into the NCAA Tournament as the American Athletic Conference Tournament champion. They also are dealing with a bit of controversy as freshman forward Noriana Radwan has been suspended for flipping off an ESPNU camera after Connecticut beat South Florida to win the AAC tournament championship. Sophomore forward Rachel Hill is the leading scorer for the Huskies and has 16 goals this season. New Hampshire won the America East Conference Tournament and have gotten hot at the right time to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Freshman forward Brooke Murphy is the key for New Hampshire and has scored 11 goals to carry the Wildcat offense.
#2 Penn State vs. Buffalo
The Nittany Lions are very talented and much improved defensively, led by redshirt junior goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom and senior defender Whitney Church. Offensively, the trio of freshman midfielder Frannie Crouse, junior forward Mallory Weber and freshman forward Megan Schafer will be the key to a long tournament run by the Nittany Lions. Buffalo won the MAC Tournament and the Bulls are led by senior forward/midfielder Katie Roberts, who has scored eleven goals this season. This has the potential to be an intriguing match.
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