Women's Soccer Set To Open 2014 ECC Championship Tournament On Wednesday At LIU Post
# 4 UB Will Face # 1 Pioneers At 1:30 p.m. On November 5th
Bridgeport, Conn. - The University of Bridgeport women's soccer team will open the 2014 East Coast Conference Championship Tournament on the road this Wednesday afternoon, November 5 when the Purple Knights head to Brookville, N.Y. for a 1:30 p.m. contest against the LIU Post Pioneers. Bridgeport, the number four seed in the tournament, comes into Wednesday's match with a 12-3-2 overall record, and UB went 5-3-1 in conference play during the regular season. LIU Post, the number one seed, went 14-1-1 overall during the regular season and 6-3 in ECC play. The Pioneers won the 2014 regular season meeting between the two teams, 2-1, on October 11, in a match that took place at on Long Island. Bridgeport heads into the 2014 ECC Championship Tournament on a three-match winning streak, and the Purple Knights are unbeaten in their last five outings. UB defeated Molloy College, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at home in the team's regular season finale to grab the final spot in this year's East Coast Conference Championship Tournament.
In Wednesday's other 2014 ECC Women's Soccer Championship Semifinal, number two seed Mercy College (14-2-1 overall and 7-1-1 ECC) will host number three seed Dowling College (11-3-2 overall, 7-1-1 ECC). That match will begin at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday's winners will meet on Friday, November 7 on the home field of the highest remaining seeded team to decide the 2014 East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Title. The 2014 East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Champion will receive an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division II Women's Soccer National Championship Tournament that is slated to begin on Friday, November 14.
On offense, senior Danielle Puddefoot (Slough, England) leads the team in scoring with 22 points on a team-high nine goals and four assists. A total of 16 players have recorded at least one point for UB in 2014, as the Purple Knights netted 36 goals while allowing only seven in their 17 matches so far this year. Sophomore Amanda Moura (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) is second in scoring for the Purple Knights with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Freshman Sophie Sorkvist Orebro, Sweden) and sophomore Tabea Rauschenberger (Mühlacker, Germany) are tied for third on the squad in scoring as they each have accumulated 10 points. Sorkvist has four goals and two assists; while Rauschenberger has two goals and a team-best six assists.
Freshman goalkeeper Kaitlin Occhipinti (Islip. N.Y.) has anchored the UB defense this season recording a stellar 0.41 goals against average with eight solo shutouts, plus she shared three other clean sheets.
Bridgeport will be looking for its third East Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship in school history, as the Purple Knights won the conference title last season and also in 2009, plus the Purple Knights are also looking for the seventh trip to the NCAA Division II Championship in the last eight years.
2014 ECC Women's Soccer Championship Schedule
Semifinals: Wednesday, November 5
No. 3 Dowling at No. 2 Mercy – 1:00 pm
No. 4 Bridgeport at No. 1 LIU Post – 1:30 pm
Finals: Friday, November 7
Winner 2/3 vs. Winner 1/4 @ highest seed Time TBA