Bentley Set to Take the Field in NCAAs on Friday vs. Molloy
Waltham, Mass. – Bentley will take the field in the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship against Molloy on Friday. The match kicks off at 10:00 am on the campus of Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. and can be watched live at the following link: https://team1sports.com/mercyathletics/
The Falcons were selected to the NCAAs for the first time on Tuesday, as the No. 6 seed in the East Region. They'll be opposed by the No. 3 seed Molloy.
Bentley got to this point by going 10-7-2 and advancing to the NE10 semifinals. They defeated Southern New Hampshire 1-0 in the NE10 quarterfinals, and gave the top seed Saint Rose a tough game before they bowed out 3-2.
Molloy (14-4-2) earned the East Coast Conference's automatic bid by winning the conference tournament. They defeated the top seed Bridgeport in the semifinals on penalty kicks, then knocked off the No. 3 seed New York Tech in the finals 2-0 to claim the program's first ECC crown.
These two teams have already played once this season. Way back on Sept. 8 when the weather was still warm, they played in the second game of the annual Molloy Kickoff Classic and played to a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes. Falcons goalkeeper Kat Hassapis (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) made four saves and Bentley held a 12-7 advantage in shots.
In fact, these teams have played in a season opening tournament every year since 2013 and Bentley has not lost, with a 4-0-3 record.
Both of these teams feature strong defenses. Bentley has posted 10 clean sheets on the season, with seven in the last nine games as part of a 7-1-1 stretch heading into the NCAAs. They have a team goals against average just a shade over 1.00, at 1.01, 4th best in the NE10. Molloy has 11 shutouts on the season and has allowed just 12 goals in 20 games.
The other first round game in Dobbs Ferry on Friday will see the No. 2 seed Mercy against the No. 7 seed Southern N.H. The two winners will meet on Sunday at 12:00 pm at the same site. In the top half of the region hosted by the No. 1 seed Saint Rose, the Golden Knights go against the No. 8 seed Daemen in the first round and Stonehill goes against Jefferson in the 4-5 game.