This Week's Schedule (at Bridgeport, Conn.) (Tournament Central)

Friday (Nov. 20) Atlantic Region final
12 p.m. - ESU vs. Edinboro (Live Stats  l  Video)

Sunday (Nov. 22) NCAA DII quarterfinal (if ESU advances)
1 p.m. - ESU vs. Bridgeport/Adelphi winner

NCAA bracket  l  PDF


Related recaps:
1st round - W 2-1 (OT) vs West Chester
2nd round - W 3-0 at WV Wesleyan


EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University takes aim at its first NCAA Division II women's soccer Atlantic Region title in program history when the Warriors face Edinboro on Friday at 12 p.m. at the University of Bridgeport (Conn.).

ESU (13-6-2) and Edinboro (15-7-1) will meet for the third time in less than a month, including ESU's 2-1 (OT) win in the PSAC championship game on November 8 at Gannon University in Erie. Both programs are playing for their first-ever regional title.

In the second game, Bridgeport (19-1-1) hosts Adelphi (18-2-2) in the East Region final.

The winners meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. to earn a spot in the NCAA DII Final Four, which will be played December 3-5 at the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida.

ESU is the only No. 6 seed to advance to a regional final in this year's DII Tournament. The national field is comprised of 48 schools across eight regions. Edinboro is the Atlantic Region No. 4 seed. The PSAC will produce the Atlantic Region champion for the 11th straight season.

The Warriors earned the PSAC's automatic bid with their second straight conference championship on November 8. ESU has advanced as the lower seed in all five of its postseason games (4-0-1) this fall, three in the PSAC Tournament and two in the NCAA Tournament.

ESU won the PSAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed after needing a win vs. No. 1-ranked Gannon on October 30 to qualify for the tournament, trailing 1-0 with 30 minutes left before prevailing 4-2.

In the PSAC's, ESU advanced at West Chester on penalty kicks (4-3) after a scoreless tie, posted a 2-0 win vs. Slippery Rock in the semifinals and the 2-1 (OT) win vs. Edinboro in the PSAC championship game.

ESU advanced out of last weekend's subregional, with a 2-1 (OT) win vs. West Chester in the first round and a 3-0 win at previously unbeaten WV Wesleyan in the second round.

Edinboro edged Charleston in penalty kicks (3-1) after a scoreless tie in its opening game, and won 2-1 (OT) at No. 1 regional seed Gannon in the second round.

ESU is in the NCAA DII Tournament for the second straight year and fourth time overall, also qualifying in 1997, 2008 and 2014. The Warriors fell 3-1 to Adelphi in 1997 in a 16-team field, and reached the second round (final 32) in a 48-team field in 2008 and 2014.

Edinboro is in the NCAA's for the fourth time in five years. The Fighting Scots failed to advance in their first three appearances (2011-13) before breaking through this fall.

On the other side, Bridgeport is in for the eighth time in nine years and is looking for its first East Region title. Adelphi qualified for the 13th time and is twice national runner-up, in 1992 and 2004.

ESU head coach Rob Berkowitz, in his ninth season, has guided the Warriors to a 10-4-4 record in postseason games since arriving in 2007, including 7-0-2 in the last two years. The 2014 team (20-1-1) had a 20-game winning streak, including 3-0 in the PSAC Tournament, before being knocked out of the NCAA's in the second round by WV Wesleyan on penalty kicks.

Seven current starters were regulars on last year's team, including all three starters in the midfield in junior Shea Neal, sophomore Sammi Ortiz and senior Syrandin Deere Vester, along with senior forward Sammi Jo Hughes, junior back Laurel Neira, junior back Hannah Gombos and sophomore goalkeeper Jules Harris.

Three Warriors - Neal, Ortiz and Neira - were named to the All-PSAC second team, and ESU was the first team in 22 years of PSAC championships to win the title without a player named to the All-PSAC first team that season.

Neal was the PSAC Tournament MVP for the second straight season and was an All-PSAC first team selection in both of her first two years. She was named to the NSCAA All-America first team as a sophomore in 2014.

She leads the Warriors with nine goals and five assists this season, scoring the game-winning goal in the PSAC championship game vs. Edinboro and ESU's third goal in Sunday's 3-0 win vs. WV Wesleyan. She has started all 60 games in her career and has the game-winner in both PSAC championship games the last two years.

Deere Vester is a three-year starter as a defensive midfielder and has started 54 games. She has six career goals with three this season, including a header late in the first half on Sunday vs. WV Wesleyan. Ortiz has started all 43 games in her career and has four goals and four assists (2 goals, 3 assists this season).

Neal (22 goals, 11 assists) and Hughes (23 goals, 13 assists) are two of seven players in program history with 20 career goals and 10 assists, and the first set of teammates with 20 career goals since Karen Hansen and Jenn Russo in 1996.

Hughes is a four-year starter at forward, appearing in the lineup in 77 games. She has eight goals and four assists this season, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win vs. Slippery Rock in the PSAC semifinals, and contributed seven goals and three assists on last year's 20-1-1 squad.

She is joined by junior forward Brielyn Hackett (4 goals, 1 assist), a first-year starter who led the Warriors with eight goals off the bench last season, and freshman forward Alex Pickett (4 goals, 2 assists), who entered the lineup midway through the season and has 12 starts. Pickett scored both goals in ESU's 2-1 (OT) win vs. West Chester in the first round, and had ESU's first goal and the assist on Neal's game-winner in the PSAC championship game.

Across the back line, Neira (2-time All-PSAC 2nd team) has started 58 games in three seasons at center back and partners with junior Andrea Polanco, who has started all 21 games this year.

Gombos (53 starts) is the right back after playing forward for most of her first two seasons. She scored directly off a corner kick 1:29 into the 3-0 win vs. WV Wesleyan in the second round and assisted on Deere Vester's header that gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead, as WVW had allowed just two goals in its first 20 games. She stepped in at right back due to injuries in the lineup midway through last year and has six career goals and eight assists.

Freshman Kyra Dubost has started 20 games (every game but the season opener), contributing two assists.

In goal, Harris has started 36 of ESU's 43 games in the last two seasons with a 0.80 goals against average, 28-6-2 record and 16 shutouts (14 solo).

She has a 1.03 goals against average, 12-5-2 record and seven shutouts (six solo) this season and was named ot the All-PSAC second team as a freshman (16-1, 0.54 gaa, 9 shutouts, 8 solo).

The Warriors have played two substitutes down the stretch at forward in sophomore Molly Vicari (1 goal, 2 assists), who has played in 18 games, and freshman Cristina Babyak (1 assist), who has played in 18 games and made four starts.

Edinboro has five All-PSAC selections with two on the first team in senior forward Jansen Hartmann (12 goals, 9 assists) and freshman midfielder Halle Hammer (9 goals, 1 assist). Sophomore forward Ashley Mutkus (7 goals, 5 assists), junior back Shannon Regan and freshman back Abby Gillespie are on the third team.

In ESU's first meeting vs. Edinboro this season (October 24), the Fighting Scots prevailed 2-1 on their home field. Junior forward Alex Brown (7 goals, 4 assists) scored in the 13th minute, Neal scored in the 50th for ESU and Hartmann had the game-winner in the 77th minute. ESU had a 14-9 advantage in shots, but Sarah Baskey (1.09 gaa) made eight saves for Edinboro.

In the PSAC championship game, Edinboro led 1-0 on a goal by Regan in the 16th minute, but Pickett scored in the 31st minute (assisted by Hackett) to tie it, and Neal scored 7:59 into OT (assisted by Pickett) for the game-winner. Edinboro had a 19-18 edge in shots and Harris made six saves for ESU.