The 2022 CAA Women's Soccer Championship presented by Primis opens Thursday with quarterfinal action at Monmouth and Drexel, which earned the top two seeds in the eight-team field on the regular season's final day.
Monmouth won the CAA regular season title in its inaugural campaign in the league with a 2-1 win over Northeastern on Sunday in New Jersey. The Hawks will face defending CAA Champion Hofstra in Thursday’s quarterfinal action (3 p.m., FloFC) after the Pride qualified for the field thanks to its head-to-head win over UNCW.
The Hawks became the first team to finish atop the table in their first year in the league since the inaugural schedule of league play in 1993. The Monmouth defense was key, as Defensive Player of the Year Jesi Rossman anchored a back line that limited opponents to eleven goals in the regular season.
The Pride is in the tournament field for the 19th time in the last 21 years and has hoisted the trophy in four of the last five seasons. Monmouth and Hofstra recorded a 1-1 draw in their regular season meeting September 29.
The other matchup at Monmouth will feature a rematch of a game played on the day’s final season, as Elon will be matched up with Towson in the 4/5 contest (7 p.m., FloFC). The teams played to a scoreless draw Sunday afternoon to both finish the regular season at 16 points. Elon is just two seasons removed from capturing a CAA title, while Towson is in the tournament field for the first time since 2014.
Elon and Towson both feature strong keepers this fall. The Phoenix’s McKenna Dalfonso has notched seven shutouts this season, while on the other end, the Tigers’ Riley Melendez – the CAA Goalkeeper of the Year – leads the nation with 11.
Philadelphia will be home to the other opening weekend pod after Drexel’s 2-1 victory on Sunday propelled the Dragons into the No. 2 seed via tiebreaker over Northeastern. Drexel will get a visit from William & Mary on Thursday (2 p.m., FloFC) in the first meeting of the year between the teams. Delaney Lappin and Annalena O’Reilly are the CAA Attacking Player and Midfielder of the Year for their efforts this year, as Drexel opened the year 7-0-3.
The Dragons face a William & Mary side that opened league play unbeaten in its first four games and looks to get back to winning ways on Thursday. The Tribe’s Ivey Crain was named CAA Rookie of the Year and ranks second among all freshmen nationally in points this fall.
Northeastern will take on Stony Brook at Vidas Field on Thursday (5:30 p.m., FloFC) after the Seawolves earned a road victory at Hofstra to qualify for the field in their first year in the CAA. The Huskies advanced to the CAA Final a year ago as the No. 4 seed after ousting top-seeded UNCW in the Semifinals in North Carolina. Northeastern freshman Vivian Akyirem is tied for third in the nation among all rookies with nine goals scored this year. The Huskies collected a 3-0 win over the Seawolves on September 29 in Brookline.
The Seawolves were picked 10th in the preseason CAA poll and exceeded expectations with 15 points in league play. Three Stony Brook freshman – Linn Beck, Gabrielle Côté, and Luciana Setteducate – earned Rookie of the Week honors at least once this fall.
All four of Thursday’s contests – and all seven of the championship – can be seen on FloFC.
CAA Women’s Soccer Championship presented by Primis
Thursday, Oct. 27 – West Long Branch, N.J.
No. 1 Monmouth vs. No. 8 Hofstra – 3 p.m., FloFC
No. 4 Elon vs. No. 5 Towson – 7 p.m., FloFC
Thursday, Oct. 27 – Philadelphia, Pa.
No. 2 Drexel vs. No. 7 William & Mary – 2 p.m., FloFC
No. 3 Northeastern vs. No. 6 Stony Brook – 5:30 p.m., FloFC
Sunday, Oct. 30 – West Long Branch, N.J.
Semifinal – 2 p.m., FloFC
Sunday, Oct. 30 – Philadelphia, Pa.
Semifinal – 2 p.m., FloFC
Saturday, Nov. 5 or Sunday, Nov. 6 – Highest Remaining Seed
Championship Final – Time TBD, FloFC
Original source can be found here.
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