With the NCAA National Tournaments underway, let’s asses the programs from Philly/Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Programs who qualified get a deeper look and programs who have been eliminated get a brief post-mortem.

NCAA DI

Penn #12 (14-3-1) – Despite the loss in their conference final, the Quakers were not to meet the same fate as last year. Their record, and national ranking, helped them receive an at-large bid. 

Union Draft Pick Stas Korzeniowski was named Ivy League Co-Offensive Player of the Year and Senior Defender Leo Burney was named Defensive Player of the Year. The Penn Coaching staff was named the best in the conference. 9 Quakers in total received All-Conference honors. 

The Quakers were named the 4th seed in the NCAA Tournament and drawn into the Second Round. They will face Massachusetts (10-3-5) at 5pm on Sunday, November, 24 at Rhodes Field.

Penn State Women #22 (14-6-3) – The Nittany Lions received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were seeded 4th. They rewarded their believers with a thorough demolition of Stony Brook, putting 8 past the Seawolves. 

Penn State had a much tougher Second Round matchup in Texas Christian. The Horned Frogs were seeded 5th, but were nationally ranked at #7. However, the Nittany Lions were able to pull out a close 1-0 win, with Jordan Fuscho assisting Kaitlyn Macbean for the decisive goal. Keeper Mackenzie Gress made 4 saves in the shutout to help PSU advance to the Sweet Sixteen. 

It is their 8th straight Sweet Sixteen appearance, which is the longest active streak in the nation. Penn State will face Vanderbilt who upset Florida State. The match will kick off at 5:30 PM on Sunday, November 24, at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Stanford (9-5-4) – Why is a Californian team listed here? Well, there is another Union draft pick turning heads in NCAA D1. 

Zach Bohane was drafted by the Union last year. The current junior opted to return to Stanford to continue his studies and development. Bohane has continued to impress with the Cardinal, adding 5 goals and 3 assists in 15 games. For his efforts, the prospective Union player was named to the All-ACC First Team.

Bohane will try and continue to contribute for Stanford, as the 16 seeded team opens their National Tournament run in the Second Round vs UC Santa Barbara (12-5-4) at 5PM PST on Sunday, November 24 at Maloney Field.

DI Postmortems

Princeton (12-7) – The Tigers secured an auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament after a 3-1 victory over Penn in the Ivy League Championship. Junior defender Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch was the only Tiger to receive a First Team placement. 6 more Princeton Players were named to the All-Conference teams. Unfortunately, the sole Garden State D1 representative was knocked out by the Akron Zips in the first round, losing 1-0.

Rider (14-5-1) – The Broncos were unable to achieve an auto-bid after losing in the MAAC Championship game to their Co-Regular Season Title partners Iona on a golden goal. The NCAA Committee did not issue Rider an at-large Bid. Transfer student Theo Da Silva (3 goals/5 assists) joined 7 other Broncos who received Conference Awards.

Drexel (9-6-2) – Despite a strong regular season, Drexel’s postseason troubles continued. The Dragons lost in the Semi-Finals of the CAA Tournament 2-0 to UNC-Wilmington. Drexel did not receive an at-large bid to the National Tournament.

Temple (5-7-5) – Predictably, Temple were unable to pull off the upset against the 1 seed. The Owls were bounced in the first round by Charlotte, losing 3-1. The lone Temple goal came from Aaron Markowtiz. 

La Salle (6-8-4) – La Salle lost 2-0 in the opening round of the Atlantic-10 Conference Championship. They were beaten by the 1 seeded George Mason. Grad Student Drew Blackwell (1 goal / 5 assists) was the only Explorer to receive Conference honors, after being named to the A-10 All-Academic Team.

Fairleigh Dickinson University (10-4-5) – FDU made it to the Northeast Conference Championships but lost in the final to Long Island University on PKs. 6 Players netted All-Conference honors but, with no auto-bid, the Knights have been shut out of the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Division II

Felician (16-3-2) – After winning the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, the Golden Falcons will make their debut appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Felician was drawn into the Second Round versus Bloomsburg (15-3-2). The two teams will face off at 3 PM on Sunday, November 24 at Steph Pettit Stadium in Bloomsburg, PA.

Jefferson Women (17-1-2) – The Rams dominated the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (11-0) en route to a regular season and tournament title. They were seeded as the 4th team in the Eastern portion of the bracket and drawn against Bentley in the First Round.

Although the Rams conceded first, a late Kiery Spatz goal forced extra time before Mia Ferrera scored the golden goal that knocked out the Falcons. Jefferson will now face East #1 seed Adelphi (12-3-1) in the Second Round. The match is scheduled for 3 PM on Sunday, November 24 and will be streamed on Flo College – a paid service.

DII Postmortem

Wilmington Women (12-5-1) – Despite an upset loss in the first round of the CACC Postseason, the Wildcats 2024 results were good enough to receive an at-large bid to the National Tournament. This is the Delaware program’s second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were defeated by a tough Franklin Pierce side in the First Round, losing 2-0.

NCAA Division III

Misericordia Women (19-1-2) – The Cougars are in the midst of another fantastic season. They secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning their 4th consecutive MAC Freedom Championship.

They recorded 3-1 victories against Grove City College and Ithaca College and are now in the Sweet Sixteen versus Christopher Newport University (17-1-2). Senior Emma Sweitzer will look to add to her program leading 74 career goals and take MU back to the Elite Eight. The match will be livestreamed on NCAA.com with kickoff scheduled for 11 AM on Saturday, November 23.

Scranton Women (19-1-2) – The #9 ranked Royals are in the Sweet Sixteen vs Trinity (17-2-2). Scranton won their 5th straight Landmark Conference Championship, securing an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in the process. They made quick work of Marywood and Wesleyan whereas Trinity needed PKs for both of their matchups. Their match will be streamed live on NCAA.com and will kick off at 3:30 PM on Saturday, November 23.

Rutgers-Newark (11-7-4) – The Raiders overcame their shortcomings in the NJAC Tournament this season, bouncing back to appear in the Eastern College Athletic Conference DIII Final against Juniata (12-3-6). The Championship game will be broadcast on the Landmark Digital Network and is set to kick off at 1pm on Saturday, November 23.

DIII Postmortems

Franklin & Marshall (10-3-7) – Despite losing to Muhlenberg in the Centennial Conference postseason, the #19 ranked Diplomats received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. After a First Round victory versus WestConn, they were bounced in the Second Round by Connecticut College, losing 3-0.

Muhlenberg (12-4-6) – Although the Mules lost via shootout in the Centennial Conference Final to Johns Hopkins, Muhlenberg received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, Muhlenberg were knocked out in the First Round by Stevens, losing 2-0 despite outshooting their opponents 17 to 10.

Stevens IT (12-3-5)  – After winning the MAC Freedom Championship, the Ducks made it to the Second Round after knocking off Muhlenberg. Ultimately, despite a last-gasp equalizer to force Extra Time, the Ducks fell to Amherst on PKs.

Neumann University (10-7-4) – The Knights won the Atlantic East Championship, receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in the process. Neumann was unable to advance past the First Round as Amherst soundly beat them 3-1.

Rowan (12-5-5) – The Profs had a successful season, winning the NJAC Tournament and securing their 31st bid to the NCAA National Tournament. They unfortunately lost in the First Round, falling 3-0 to Vassar.

NJCAA

Camden County College (16-1) – The Panthers dominance at the NJCAA level continued. They went undefeated in conference play (13-0). Despite losing 2-3 against Dallas College Richland in the National Tournament, the Panthers recovered and beat Nassau Community College 2-0 to finish 3rd in the nation among Community Colleges.