The NCAA News - News and Features

November 3, 1997

Division III Women's Soccer

UC San Diego must compete against larger field for possible three-peat

Event: 1997 Division III Women's Soccer Championship.

Overview: Two-time defending champion UC San Diego must clear an extra hurdle in its pursuit of a three-peat -- a bigger field. Forty teams, the largest field ever, will be championship hopefuls this year. The Tritons are as good a favorite as any, having reached the title game three straight years. This year's team is 12-1 and is led by Lauren Johnson, who set school records last year in goals and total points. Sweeper Beth Freeburg is a returning all-American and was the most outstanding defensive player in last year's championship. Coach Brian McManus is now 178-20-15 in his 11th season and has another balanced team with seven players sporting at least three goals .... However, 15-0 College of New Jersey currently rests atop the coaches' poll. The Lions have rebounded from last year's championship-game loss to the Tritons behind sophomore goalkeeper Daniela Kolarsick, who has 11 shutouts this year and 26 for her career. Offensively, junior forward Traci Tapp has 12 goals and seven assists. The Lions close the campaign with three of four games on the road, and they don't figure to see home once the tournament begins, either. The Lions have hosted just one of 18 tournament games since they first made the field in 1991 .... 10-0-2 Rochester began the season ranked 21st but has risen to fourth behind freshman keeper Kate Donhauser, who has seven shutouts in 12 games, including 1-0 wins over University Athletic Association rivals Washington (Missouri) and Emory. Fifteen of coach Terry Gurnett's players have either a goal or an assist, topped by Courtney Shepard with five and four, respectively .... Mary Washington is 12-1-1 after not making the field last year. Laura Stratford's 10 goals pace the third-ranked Eagles .... Other contenders figure to be Western Connecticut State, Macalester, Amherst, Trinity (Texas), Plymouth State and Cal Lutheran.

Field: Forty teams in eight regions will be selected November 2.

Dates and sites: All games will be played on the campuses of competing institutions. First-round games will be played November 5, regionals November 8-9 and quarterfinals November 15 or 16. The semifinals and final will be November 22-23.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1461 for bracket/schedule, 5153 for semifinal results and 5154 for championship game results. Results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Championship results will appear in the December 1 issue of The NCAA News.