Saints Draw Georgetown in NCAA Women's College Cup
Siena Sports Information
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - After winning their first-ever MAAC Championship Sunday in Baltimore, Siena Women's Soccer will look to capture the program's first NCAA Tournament win just 35 miles down the road in the very same state. The Saints have drawn BIG EAST power Georgetown and will take on the Hoyas in an 8 p.m. kickoff Friday night at Ludwig Field on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.
"It's a bit of a surprise going out of our region to Maryland, but that's ok," said head coach Steve Karbowski. "We played down there last week and did really well and hope we can again."
Siena (17-3) defeated Canisius on Sunday 1-0 in double overtime in the MAAC Championship game in Baltimore to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Women's College Cup. The Saints now will take on Georgetown for the very first time.
The Hoyas (13-6-1) were one of 34 teams in the field to earn an at-large berth into the championships and one of six teams to qualify from the BIG EAST. The Hoyas dropped their most recent match, falling 1-0 in double overtime to USF in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals.
The Saints are 3-7 all-time against BIG EAST foes but are a perfect 2-0 against the conference this season. In the 2010 opener, the Saints pulled off a 3-2 road win at UCONN. The Green and Gold also earned a 4-3 victory over Providence on Sept. 3. Trailing 2-0 with 12:45 remaining, the Saints scored four goals in a 6:16 span to stun the Friars.
Georgetown played neither UCONN nor Providence this season. The one common opponent the Saints and Hoyas had this season was Fairfield. Both teams posted identical 2-1 overtime victories in their meetings with the Stags.
The winner of Friday's game advances to play the victor of the match between Maryland and High Point on Sunday at 1 p.m. The tournament host Terps are the No. 1 seed in the bracket and are ranked third nationally. Siena and Maryland were the last two remaining undefeated and untied teams left in all of Division I this season before the Terps' Sept. 26 tie against Duke and the Saints Oct. 15 loss to Canisius.
Tickets for Friday's doubleheader are $10 for adults and $5 for youth/senior. College student admission is $3 per ticket with valid student ID. Advance tickets are available through the Maryland ticket office by calling 1-800-IM-A-TERP.
In what is a big day of Siena Soccer in the greater Baltimore-Washington metro area, the men's soccer team will also be in action earlier Friday at 3 p.m. just 35 miles away. The men take on Iona in the MAAC Championships from Ridley Athletic Complex where the women's team won its championship yesterday.