Monmouth Women’s Soccer locked up the CAA North top seed after a 0-0 draw against the Northeastern Huskies on Sunday, Oct 26.
Entering the day, Monmouth was tied for the division lead with Stony Brook at 15 points each, although the Hawks held the tiebreaker. If Monmouth either outscored or scored the same amount of points as Stony Brook, they would earn the top seed. If Stony Brook outscored Monmouth, they would earn the top seed. The top seed in the division would get an automatic bid to the CAA Semifinals, while the second place team would have to play in a quarterfinal playoff game against the third place team.
Despite outshooting the Huskies 33-6 and having seven corner kicks, Monmouth was not able to find the back of the net at all. Northeastern junior goalkeeper Eliza Teplow had a remarkable game, making 11 saves for the Huskies. Senior forward Summer Reimet had 11 shots for the Hawks, but only one was on goal. Freshman Natalie McGovern had three shots on goal for Monmouth, the most on the team. Of Northeastern’s six shots, only one was on goal.
With Monmouth drawing Northeastern, they would finish the regular season with a record of 10-5-2, with a 5-3-1 record in conference play. They would be forced to scoreboard watch to determine their seeding in the CAA North bracket. If Stony Brook defeated Hofstra, they would earn the top seed and Monmouth would be forced to play in the quarterfinals. A draw or loss would give Monmouth the top seed. The Seawolves wound up losing to Hofstra by a score of 3-2, clinching the top seed for Monmouth.
The three teams in the CAA North division to make the CAA Tournament are Monmouth, Stony Brook, and Hofstra, who clinched the final spot in the division with their win against Stony Brook. Northeastern’s 0-0 draw against Monmouth would turn out to be its final game of the season, as they missed the tournament along with Towson and Drexel in the North division.
On Thursday, Stony Brook and Hofstra will have a rematch at Stony Brook University in one of two CAA quarterfinal matchups. The winner of that game will travel to West Long Branch to take on the Hawks in the CAA Semifinal at Hesse Field on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the CAA South division, UNC Wilmington earned the top seed after going unbeaten in conference play. William & Mary and Elon earned the other two spots in the CAA Tournament from the South division, as Charleston, Campbell, and Hampton all missed the tournament. William & Mary and Elon will face off at William & Mary University on Thursday, with the winner travelling to UNC Wilmington to face the Seahawks in the other CAA Semifinal on Sunday. The winners of the two semifinal games will meet in the CAA championship game on Saturday, Nov. 8. The winner of that game will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
