Nov. 9, 2009

NCAA College Cup Bracket

NCAA Tournament Central

NCAA First & Second Round Notes

BALTIMORE, Md. - The Loyola women's soccer team will play West Virginia in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Women's Soccer College Cup on Friday, November 13, in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game will be played at Wake Forest's W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium at 3:00 pm.

"It is an honor to be a part of the NCAA field and have this great opportunity to play a team such as West Virginia," said head coach Katherine Remy Vettori.

The matchup with the Mountaineers (9-6-6) will be the third time the teams have faced, with both games occuring in the NCAA Tournament.  Loyola fell to WVU, 3-0, in 2002, and 4-2, in 2003, but this will be the first time the teams will meet on a neutral site.

The winner of the matchup will face the winner of Wake Forest/Kennesaw State on Sunday, November 15 at 1:00 pm.  Should the Greyhounds advance, it will either be the team's fourth all-time match (second of the season) against Wake Forest, or the first-ever meeting against Kennesaw State.

The Greyhounds (15-4-3) won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship on November 2, with a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Niagara, to earn their seventh bid to the College Cup, and first since 2007.

Loyola played four teams that earned bids to the NCAA College Cup this season, doing so in four consecutive games. Loyola defeated Big South champion High Point, 3-0, on the road, and then fell to ACC members, Wake Forest, 2-1, and Maryland, 5-2. The Greyhounds then came home for their home-opener and tied America East champion Boston University, 1-1, on September 4.

"The reason that we play the schedule that we play is to prepare for conference play and to prepare for postseason play," added Vettori.  "The opportunity to return to play at a venue such as Wake Forest is an exciting opportunity."

After a loss on September 13, the Greyhounds went on to go undefeated in a program-record 14 straight games (12-0-2), a streak that continues entering the College Cup. During the streak, Loyola won nine-straight matches, which is the third-longest in team history.

After going a perfect 9-0-0 in conference play, Loyola entered the MAAC Championships as the top seed and earned a bye into the quarterfinals. The `Hounds trailed early in all three games, but found a way to win, including coming back from a two-goal halftime deficit in the championship game.

The five seniors on the squad - Theresa Ferraina, Heather Cooke, Christina Gomez, Amanda Meehan and Andrea Toro - will be appearing in their second College Cup. Ferraina scored Loyola's goal in the 4-1 loss at Virginia in the first round of the 2007 College Cup. This year's juniors - Taylor Santypal, Kelly Thomas, Lina Staropoli and Kelly Farrell - will also appear in their second College Cup.