The Albertus Magnus women's soccer team will be the fifth seed in the upcoming 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Tournament beginning on Sunday, Oct. 28. The Falcons will face fourth-seeded Simmons College in Boston at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.
The Falcons, who finished the 2012 regular season with an 11-5-2 overall record, will be making their fourth consecutive postseason appearance as it is the third-straight year in which the Falcons have finished the regular season in the top-five of the conference standings.
Simmons College enters the postseason as the fourth seed after finishing the regular season with a 10-7 overall record and an 8-4 mark in GNAC play. The Sharks and Falcons squared off in the regular season in New Haven as Simmons shutout the Falcons 2-0 on Sept. 25.
The Sharks closed out the regular season winning four of five GNAC contests to earn the fourth seed and a quarterfinal home match.
The winner of the Sunday morning contest will play the winner of the 1v8 match as the top-seeded University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) Blue Jays will host Saint Joseph's College of Maine. The Blue Jays enter the postseason as the No. 1 seed with a 10-1-1 record in league play. Junior Patricia Nolan has led USJ this season as she ranks second in the GNAC with 34 points on 13 goals and eight assists. The Monks finished with a 4-4-4 conference record to grab the eighth seed.
Lasell College, who was picked as the pre-season favorite in the coaches' poll, has earned the No. 2 seed and will host No. 7 Suffolk University. The Lasers are led by sophomore Bridget Lynch who currently leads the GNAC in points with 41. Lynch also leads the GNAC and ranks tied for ninth in the nations with 19 goals.
After missing the playoffs last season, the Emmanuel College Saints return to the GNAC tournament as the No. 3 seed with an 8-3-1 conference mark and will play host to No. 6 Emerson College.
Winners of the Sunday quarterfinal matches will meet in the semifinals on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at the site of the higher seeds. The GNAC Finals will be played on Saturday, Nov. 3 at the site of the highest remaining seed in the tournament.
