ESU vs. Notre Dame (Ohio) - Friday 12 p.m. (at West Chester)
* Live Stats  l  Video  l  Radio (ESPN 840) and espnpoconos.com

Related: Coach Berkowitz on John Mendola Show

NSCAA DII coaches poll (Nov. 8) - listed below

Tickets:
Adults - $7
Seniors (65+) - $3
Children (2-12) - $1


EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University begins the defense of its 2015 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region women's soccer title on Friday at 12 p.m. as the Warriors face Notre Dame (Ohio) at West Chester in the first round of this year's regional.

ESU (15-4-2), the No. 5 seed, won its third straight PSAC championship on Sunday to claim the PSAC's automatic bid.

Notre Dame (14-1-4), the No. 4 seed, won the Mountain East Conference championship on penalty kicks to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons.

ESU is listed 17th and Notre Dame is 25th in this week's NSCAA DII coaches poll. The Warriors were ranked as high as 3rd this fall as part of an 11-1 start.

ESU is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its third straight, also qualifying in 1997 and 2008. The Warriors have a 4-3-1 record all-time in eight NCAA postseason games, and won their first-ever regional title last fall.

Friday's winner advances to play No. 1 seed West Chester (18-0-1) on Sunday at 12 p.m. The Golden Rams are making their 13th straight NCAA appearance and have won six regional titles (2005-07, 2010, 2012, 2014).

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 seed Kutztown (17-4) will play the winner of No. 3 Charleston (14-3-3) and No. 6 Edinboro (13-4-1).

The regional finalists from both sites will meet next weekend (Friday, Nov. 18) at the Atlantic Region's top remaining seed.

ESU won the PSAC championship last weekend at West Chester following a 5-0 home win vs. Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals. The Warriors advanced past West Chester on penalty kicks, 3-2, following a 1-1 (2OT) tie and posted a 2-1 win vs. Kutztown in the PSAC championship game, scoring twice after going down 1-0 just 101 seconds into the game.

ESU has been the lower seed in nine of its 10 postseason games since last November - claiming two PSAC championships and the NCAA regional along the way - while posting a goal differential of 19-6.

The Warriors were 5-1-1 in seven postseason games last fall, advancing in six straight rounds - all as the lower seed - to win the PSAC and NCAA DII Atlantic Region titles before falling 2-0 at Bridgeport in their first-ever Elite Eight appearance.

ESU has advanced in 16 of its 23 postseason games overall under 10th-year head coach Rob Berkowitz, going 13-5-5 with a 3-2 mark in penalty kicks.

The Warriors are led by seven players who have made significant contributions to each of their three straight PSAC championship teams, posting a 49-12-5 record since the start of the 2014 season.

ESU's senior class has set a program four-year wins record of 57-19-7, breaking the mark of 56 wins set by the 1994-97 class with Sunday's PSAC championship victory vs. Kutztown.

Junior goalkeeper Jules Harris, the PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year, led a conference-best five selections on the All-PSAC first team this fall.

Also selected to the first team were sophomore forward Alex Pickett, senior midfielder Shea Neal, junior midfielder Sammi Ortiz and senior back Hannah Gombos. Senior back Laurel Neira was a second team selection.

Harris has a 0.57 goals against average and 0.878 save percentage while starting all 21 games this season, allowing 12 goals in 1898 minutes. She set ESU's single-season record for shutouts (10) and tied her own record for solo shutouts (8).

In last Friday's PSAC semifinal at West Chester, Harris made saves on three of WCU's five penalty kicks as the Warriors advanced. She also helped ESU past West Chester in penalty kicks in the 2015 PSAC quarterfinals.

She has earned a pair of All-Region selections, with an opportunity for a third this fall, posting a 44-11-4 record in 59 career starts, with a goals against average of 0.72 and 27 shutouts, tied for ESU's career record.

Neal earned her third All-PSAC first team and third straight PSAC Tournament MVP selection last week, leading the Warriors as an attacking midfielder. She has four goals and five assists this season, including both goals in the PSAC championship game, and has 26 career goals (6th in school history), 16 assists and 68 points (6th) in 79 starts. She has five goals and four assists over the last three postseasons.

She was ESU's initial first team All-America selection in program history during the 2014 season.

Pickett is the Atlantic Region's top scorer with 14 goals and four assists for 32 points, including three goals and one assist last week - two goals and an assist vs. Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals, and ESU's goal in the 1-1 tie at West Chester in the semifinals.

She has played in 17 games and 16 starts, missing four games due to injury - with the Warriors going 14-0-2 in her 16 starts and 1-4 in the five that she didn't. She has 17 goals and five assists in her last 21 starts since contributing a goal and an assist in last year's PSAC final as a freshman.

Ortiz has partnered with Neal in the midfield for the last three seasons, starting all 66 games on the 2014-16 PSAC championship teams. She has four goals and an assist this season, and nine goals and five assists in her career as a key two-way player. She was named to the NSCAA All-Region second team last fall.

Gombos is an attacking key for the Warriors at right back, contributing three goals and a PSAC-leading 10 assists. She had a point in four straight games entering the PSAC championship games while taking corner kicks and set pieces. A four-year starter (75 career starts), she has nine career goals and 18 assists (5th in school history) - opening her career as a forward before moving to back midway through her sophomore year.

Neira earned her third straight All-PSAC second team selection and is a two-time All-Region pick. She started ESU's first 13 games before suffering an injury in a 1-0 loss at West Chester on October 11. Neira has made 74 career starts at center back and has 11 career goals, mostly off corner kicks and set pieces.

The rest of the back line includes senior Liia Carpenter at left back and senior Andrea Polanco at center back.

Polanco has partnered with Neira for the last two seasons, appearing in the lineup in 43 of ESU's 44 games, and has made 45 career starts overall. She was named the PSAC's Champion Scholar last week as the student-athlete with the top grade-point average (4.0 in Public Health) at last week's championship site.

Carpenter is a first-year starter at back and a former forward. She scored ESU's only goal in a 2-1 loss at then-No. 5 Adelphi, and assisted on Neal's game-tying goal in the PSAC championship game last Sunday.

A pair of freshmen have been vital in the midfield in Danielle Cary (3 goals, 3 assists), who has started all 21 games, and Syd Hicks, who has started 20 games and has moved to center back in the last month with Neira out of the lineup.

Senior forward Brielyn Hackett has started all 21 games and has two goals and five assists in an attacking role. She has 15 career goals and nine assists, making 48 career starts, and was the Warriors' top scorer (8 goals) while entering primarily as a backup on the 2014 PSAC championship team.

Multiple Warriors provide additional attacking depth, including junior forward Molly Vicari (2 goals, 3 assists), freshman forward Amy Strauser (4 goals), senior midfielder Alyssa Simeone (1 goal), who has started the last six games, and freshmen midfielders Jules Sicker (1 goal) and Hannah Saggese.

Sophomore Carly Abbott has been the top defensive backup, playing in 12 games and making three starts.

Friday's game vs. Notre Dame will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

The Falcons (14-1-4) are unbeaten in their last 12 games (10-0-2) since a 1-0 home loss to Charleston, its only defeat of the season, on September 25.

They advanced on penalty kicks in both rounds of last week's MEC Tournament, 2-2 (4-3) vs. West Liberty and 0-0 (4-2) vs. Charleston, to win the conference title.

Notre Dame has seven All-MEC selections, including four on the first team in senior Alex Manoa (5 goals, 9 assists), senior Megan O'Connor (4 goals, 2 assists), senior Karla DiJohn (3 goals) and senior goalkeeper Samantha Shoemaker (0.61 goals against average).

Sophomore Katarina Doncevic, Notre Dame's top scorer (9 goals, 3 assists), was named to the second team along with junior Maranda Melton (2 goals) and senior Jessica Sobotka (1 assist). Junior Jackie Corrigan (4 goals) has also scored multiple times.

The Falcons have a 37-12 goal differential this season and posted a 3-1 win at Slippery Rock in its season opener, its only meeting with a PSAC school this season.

ESU has a 46-14 goal differential, with Pickett (14) pacing a deep attack with 10 players scoring multiple goals.


NSCAA Division II coaches poll (Nov. 8)
1. Western Washington (19-0-1) - previously 1
2. Grand Valley (19-1-1) - 2
3. Central Missouri (19-1-0) - 4
4. West Chester (18-0-1) - 3
5. Columbus State (18-2-0) - 5
6. Colorado Mines (19-2-0) - 6
7. Saint Leo (14-3-1) - 10
8. Adelphi (15-3-1) - 12
9. UC San Diego (18-2-0) - 8
10. St. Edward's (15-1-2) - 9
11. Limestone (17-1-0) - 14
12. Rockhurst (17-2-2) - 15
13. LIU Post (14-3-2) - 22
14. Bridgeport (16-3-0) - 7
15. Minnesota-Mankato (16-3-2) - RV
16. West Florida (16-4-0) - NR
17. East Stroudsburg (15-4-2) - NR
18. Kutztown (17-4-0) - 13
19. Nova Southeastern (9-3-3) - 20
20. North Georgia (14-2-3) - 17
21. Sonoma State (12-2-3) - 19
22. Truman State (14-1-4) - 18
23. Colorado-Pueblo (14-4-1) - 23
24. Fort Hays State (14-4-2) - 21
25. Notre Dame (Ohio) (15-1-3) - 24

Receiving votes: Minot State, Carson-Newman, McKendree, Rollins, Lee