Springfield, Mass. - November 5, 2012 - For the third-straight season, the Springfield College women's soccer team will be competing in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship this weekend. The Pride will take on Cortland on Saturday in a contest hosted by William Smith College.Springfield, which owns a 13-4-2 record, captured an automatic berth into the national tournament after advancing past Wheaton College in penalty kicks on Sunday in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship match. With the victory, Springfield is in the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in the last six years. The Pride has been on a roll since it's last loss on October 2, as it has rattled off a 7-0-2 record in its last nine contests.
Cortland is making its second straight NCAA Div. III tournament appearance and owns a 11-4-5 record. The Red Dragons earned an NCAA automatic berth by defeating Oneonta, 2-1, in the SUNYAC tournament championship game this past Saturday.
The other game in the four-team bracket at William Smith features the host Herons (13-2-3) versus Penn State Behrend (12-8). That game will kick off Saturday's action at 11:00 am and will be followed by the Pride's contest at 1:30 p.m. Saturday's winners will meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. to play for a spot in the third round. Tickets are $6 for general admission, $3 for students, senior citizens and military personnel, and $2 for children ages 3-12.
Cortland and Springfield have met once previously, with Springfield winning, 2-1, in 1981.
John Gibson, a native of London, England, enters his 13th season as head women's soccer at Springfield College in the fall of 2012. Gibson has led the Pride to the NCAA Tournament in five of the last seven years and has established the Pride as one of the top programs in the country. His clubs have registered an impressive a 152-70-19 record.
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