GNAC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

WINTHROP, Mass. – Johnson & Wales played to a perfect 15-0 [45 points] (15-2-3 overall) record in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play this year to earn the top seed in the 2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Championship Tournament.

The Wildcats are the three-time defending conference champions and are looking to add more hardware to the trophy case this season. This year is the third season in a row that JWU has completed the GNAC schedule without a loss and the second in a row that it have gone unbeaten and untied.

Placing second in the 2023 standings was Emmanuel, which played to a 14-1 [42 points] GNAC (16-2 overall) record to earn the No. 2 seed.

JWU and Emmanuel will await the winners of the two GNAC Play-In games, which are scheduled to take place on Thursday, Oct. 24. The hosts for those two matches are No. 7 seed Rivier (8-5-2 [26 points] GNAC, 9-6-3 overall) and No. 8 seed Saint Joseph's (Maine) (6-4-5 [23 points], 6-6-5 overall). No. 10 seed Albertus Magnus (5-6-4 [19 points] GNAC, 6-6-5) will travel to the Raiders at 7 p.m., while No. 9 Elms (6-8-1 [19 points] GNAC, 7-9-1 overall) will visit the Monks at 6 p.m.

With Elms and Albertus tied in points at the end of the regular season, the league's tiebreaking procedure was needed to determine seeding. The two teams played to a 2-2 draw in their regular-season conference matchup offering no relief. The next step was number of conference wins, which gave the Blazers the edge with their six victories compared to the Falcons' five.

The rest of the tournament field wait with the Wildcats and Saints in the quarterfinal round, which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28. No. 3 seed Lasell (10-3-2 [32 points] GNAC, 11-5-2 overall) will host No. 6 seed University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) (8-4-3 [27 points] GNAC, 8-6-3 overall) in one of the other quarterfinals with No. 4 seed Colby-Sawyer (10-4-1 [31 points] GNAC, 11-6-3 overall) and No. 5 seed Regis (8-3-4 [28 points] GNAC, 9-4-4 overall) serving as the final matchup. In the quarterfinals, JWU will host the SJC-Elms winner and Emmanuel will host the winner of Rivier and Albertus.

The tournament will continue with the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The two semifinal winners will then compete for the GNAC title on Saturday, Nov. 4. The winner of the GNAC Championship match will be named the 2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship.

2023 GNAC Women's Soccer Tournament Schedule

Play-In – Thursday, Oct. 26
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#10 Albertus Magnus at #7 Rivier, 7 p.m.
#9 Elms at #8 Saint Joseph's (Maine), 6 p.m.

Quarterfinals – Saturday, Oct. 28
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#8/9 Winner at #1 Johnson & Wales, 6 p.m.
#7/10 Winner at #2 Emmanuel, 1 p.m.
#6 University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at #3 Lasell, 1:30 p.m.
#5 Regis at #4 Colby-Sawyer, Noon

Semifinals – Wednesday, Nov. 1
(Hosted by higher seeds)

#1/8/9 Winner vs. #4/5 Winner, TBD
#2/7/10 Winner vs. #3/6 Winner, TBD

Championship – Saturday, Nov. 4

Semifinal winners, TBD

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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