Bentley Set to Face Southern N.H. in NE10 Quarterfinals
WALTHAM, Mass. – Saturday's 2-1 overtime win over New Haven punched their ticket, now the Bentley women's soccer team has their sights set on advancing in the Northeast-10 playoffs. The Falcons will take on Southern New Hampshire in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 4:00 pm. The game can be seen live on youtube.com/user/snhupenmen
After falling one game short last season, the Falcons broke through this season to claim a spot in the eight team NE10 playoffs.
The Falcons played their way in with four wins in the final five matches, and a 4-1-1 record over the final six games. They finished the regular season with a 6-7-1 NE10 record for 19 points and the No. 7 seed.
Head coach Lauren Lukis' side has had a balanced offensive attack and reliable defense that allowed no more than one goal in a game only once in the season's final month. Offensively, there's been no one dominant goal scorer, but a group that has all contributed. Sophomore Stephanie Helin (Manchester, Conn./East Catholic) and Lindsey Connolly (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) were the co-leading goal scorers with four each, while junior Brandi McDonald (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) led the team with five assists, and also contributed two goals.
Four other players scored at least two goals, with senior Peyton Kent (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) among the four. Two of her three goals were game-winners; in overtime against Southern Conn on Oct. 14, and one game later, she had the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Pace on Oct. 17. Sophomore Kelly Donlon (Meriden, Conn./Francis T. Maloney) had three goals as well on the season, including the overtime winner against New Haven on Saturday.
The back four has featured two players that started all 14 NE10 games in sophomores Riane Hunt (Millis, Mass./Millis) and Sammy Millmann (Northport, N.Y./Northport). Junior Meagan Iris (Dix Hills, N.Y./Half Hollow West) has returned from a midseason injury to bolster the group, and has started the past two matches.
In front of them, junior midfielders Carly Kohler (West Islip, N.Y./West Islip) and Lauren Bean (Newburyport, Mass./Newburyport) started nearly every NE10 match, and are among the team leaders in minutes played.
Bentley's 1-1 tie with the Penmen back on Oct. 11 started its run towards the postseason. Bentley led most of the way after Connolly scored in the 17th minute, only to see SNHU score the tying goal in the 74th minute.
They followed that up with consecutive wins over Southern Conn and Pace. A 3-1 defeat at Le Moyne was the only road bump along the way, but the team responded with wins over Stonehill (1-0) and New Haven (2-1) to close out the regular season.
The Penmen will enter Wednesday's game after going 9-1-4 in NE10 matches for 31 points and the No. 2 seed, which is its highest ever finish. They are on a six game unbeaten streak (3-0-3) entering the postseason.
The other quarterfinal matches on Tuesday will see top seed Adelphi host Merrimack, No. 3 seed Saint Rose host Assumption, and No. 4 seed Franklin Pierce host No. 5 seed Pace. The semifinals are set for Friday, Nov. 3, and the championship match on Nov. 5, all played at the higher seed.