PURCHASE, N.Y. – Having already pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in program history against Eastern University on Wednesday, the third-seeded Manhattanville women's soccer team will look to keep the magic going and earn the program's second NCAA Tournament berth on Saturday afternoon, when the Valiants take on top-seeded FDU-Florham in the Freedom Conference Championship game at 1 p.m. in Madison, N.J.
On the line for both teams is a berth in the 2010 NCAA Division III Championship, which is set to begin on Thursday, November 11. Manhattanville has made one NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007, while FDU-Florham has never reached the NCAAs in program history.
For all those planning on attending Saturday's match, MAC policy requires that admission is $5.00 for adults, $4.00 for senior citizens, $2 for all students, and free for children under the age of six. For all those who can't make the trip to Madison, WMVL 88.1 FM will have a free audio broadcast of the match beginning at approximately 12:50 p.m., while FDU-Florham will also provide live stats.
Manhattanville (3-13-3, 3-2-2 Freedom) reached its third Freedom Conference title match and fifth conference championship game in six years with a thrilling penalty-kick win over the second-seeded Eagles on the road Wednesday. The Valiants went a perfect 4-for-4 in the shootout to win by a 4-1 margin after the teams played to a 2-2 (2OT) tie after 110 minutes of play. Senior Holly Nonis (Brampton, Ontario) scored both MVille goals in a span of 4:28 to bring the team back to even and classmate Ali Bromson (Suffield, Conn.) made seven saves in regulation and one big stop in penalty kicks to lead the Valiants to victory.
An All-Conference performer for the fourth straight year, Nonis leads the team offensively with 12 goals and two assists for 26 points, and with her two scores also moved into third place on the school's all-time points list with 104 (44 goals, 16 assists) to go with currently placing fourth in goals and seventh in assists at Manhattanville. Both of her goals on Wednesday came off of passes from the team's primary playmaker in the middle, sophomore All-Conference midfielder Morgan Rebollal (Holtsville, N.Y.), who leads the team with seven assists and has added three goals in 17 matches this season.
In goal, Bromson has been spectacular all season long, leading the conference in saves and posting a 1.81 goals against average and .768 save percentage. The four-time All-Conference honoree still remains first all-time in wins (35) and goals against average (1.36) at the school, while also ranking in the top-six in saves (439), save percentage (.806) and shutouts (21).
The Valiants are looking to follow the path of the 2007 squad, which went 0-11-2 in non-conference play before sweeping through the Freedom Conference and taking home the Freedom Tournament title as the top seed. This year's team went 0-11-0 against another very tough non-conference slate, but has come together at just the right moment and hopes to repeat the magic as the underdog this time four years later.
FDU-Florham (14-5-2, 6-0-1 Freedom) advanced past fourth-seeded Misericordia University with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday. The Devils found themselves down by a goal just three minutes into the contest, but senior forward Brittany Kanickij scored twice in the final 27 seconds of the first half to stun the Cougars and lead her team to a comeback win.
Kanickij and classmate Lora Fink are the two primary weapons for the FDU offensive unit, as the two All-Conference forwards have combined for 29 goals and 18 assists – 55 percent of the team's goals and points in 2010. Kanickij, an All-Conference first-team selection, leads the Freedom Conference with 19 goals in 21 matches and also has five assists for a conference-leading 43 points. Fink, named to the All-Freedom second team this year, ranks fifth in the conference with 10 goals and has also dished off a conference-best 13 assists – nine of which have been on Kanickij tallies.
FDU-Florham, which has never reached the NCAA Tournament, is making its sixth Freedom Conference Tournament appearance and second in the championship match, the last of which came in 2006 when the Devils were the top-seed and lost to third-seeded University of Scranton by a 2-1 score in the title round.
As the only team in the Freedom Conference to have a history with the Valiants prior to Manhattanville's entry in 2007, FDU-Florham has played Manhattanville 17 times in program history, with the Devils holding a slight 7-9-1 edge all-time. In one meeting this year, FDU escaped with a 1-0 (OT) win on a Fink penalty kick in overtime.
