CAMBRIDGE, MASS. – Following a historic Skyline Conference Tournament Championship, the Sarah Lawrence women's soccer team is looking to add another program and school first by winning an NCAA tournament game. The Gryphons are slated to take on the hosting MIT Engineers in a first-round match on Saturday, November 12^th at 11:00 a.m. This is the first time that a Sarah Lawrence team has advanced to the NCAA tournament and with a win, the Gryphons would add to an already impressive list of achievements so far this season.

How the Gryphons Got Here
The formula for the Gryphons has been steadfast for the majority of the season… don't let the other team score. The defense for Sarah Lawrence has been extremely strong all season, allowing only three goals in conference play and outscoring opponents 59-15 on the year. The Gryphons are led by coach Maurizio Grillo, the Skyline Conference Coach of the Year, whose game-planning and strategic expertise have helped him guide this roster through this precedent-shattering season. While the defense shined throughout the entire campaign, it was clutch late-game goals that allowed them to hoist the championship trophy. In the 58^th minute of the Skyline Semifinal, senior Lainie Cadieux found the back of the net on a penalty kick to give the Gryphons a 1-0 advantage which would hold throughout the remainder of the game and propel the Gryphons to the championship game. After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer in the Skyline Championship Game against Farmingdale State, the game was to be decided by penalty kicks. Cadieux stepped up first, just three days after she sent the Gryphons to the championship game, and once again sent the ball past the goalkeeper to give the Gryphons an early advantage. After an impressive save by goalkeeper Maya Pfeiffer and some clutch kicks from Skyline Player of the Year Cora Colvin and Rookie of the Year Viktoria Balbin, the Gryphons found themselves with a one-goal advantage and one kicker from each team remained in the first set of kicks. First Year Daniela Perez approached the ball with a chance to clinch the tournament championship if she could get past the Farmingdale keeper. Cadieux was named the Player of the Tournament to add to the Defensive Player of the Year Award she would earn the following week. A shot towards the top left corner made it past the outstretched arms of the keeper and the celebration began. A 4-2 advantage in penalty kicks gave Sarah Lawrence College its first Skyline Soccer Championship and marked the second-straight season where a Gryphons team won a conference title, following the women's tennis team's victory just last year.

Getting to Know the Opponent
The MIT Engineers (14-5-2, NEWMAC 8-1-1) are coming into the NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament fresh off a loss in the NEWMAC tournament semifinals. After earning the regular-season conference title and a consequent bye in the first round of the tournament, the 16^th ranked Engineers were upset by Clark University by a score of 1-0, ending their postseason early and forcing the team to look forward to the NCAA tournament. MIT is led offensively by junior Meagan Rowlett and Graduate Student Karenna Groff, who totaled ten and nine goals this season, with Groff adding a team-high seven assists to her nine-goal season. Senior goalkeeper Lauren Castle started 13 of the games for the Engineers and allowed just four goals on 29 opportunities, leading to a 0.862 save percentage and only 0.38 goals allowed on average. Much like the Gryphons, MIT was a force on the defensive side of the field, allowing just 11 goals all season and only one singular score in conference play.

Game Information
The Gryphons and Engineers will kick-off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday and the live stream and live stats links can be found on both gogryphons.com and the MIT Athletics website. A game program as well as an NCAA tournament program are both located at gogryphons.com for more information about both teams, the regional matches, and the NCAA tournament as a whole