MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -  The University of Hartford women's soccer team continues its historic season as the Hawks head to Vermont for the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Hartford will face the University of Rochester on Saturday, November 15th at 1:00 p.m. at Middlebury College. The match up marks Hartford's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2006 capturing the Conference of New England (CNE) Championship for the second consecutive season.

University of Hartford Hawks (14-3-2 Overall, 7-3-0 CNE)
University of Rochester Yellowjackets (8-3-6 Overall, 2-3-2 UAA)

Game Headlines:
The Hawks enter the NCAA tournament riding a six-game winning streak after defeating Endicott College, 2-0, in the CNE Championship last weekend. Hartford is appearing in the national tournament for the first time since transitioning to Division III and will look to keep its momentum going after outsourcing opponents 14-1 over its last five contests.

Rochester earned an at-large berth into the NCAA field following a strong regular season in the highly competitive University Athletic Association (UAA). The Yellowjackets are making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and have built their success on a disciplined structure and balanced attack.

The winner of Saturday's match up will advance to Sunday's Second Round, facing the winner of host team Middlebury College and Westfield State. Sunday's match is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.

Hartford Headlines:

• Hartford's offense has been special once again in 2025 averaging 3.0 goals per contest which is ranked 28th in the country this season. Senior Rebecca Opdenbrouw (Vernon, Conn.) is the catalyst for the attack scoring 14 goals to go with 10 assists this season. Opdenbrouw has also found a knack for the big moment securing six game-winners, including the winner against Endicott College in the first match up. Freshman Anastasia Nerney(Glocester, R.I.) also has been a revelation for Hartford as the first year starter has put together 31 points this season (11 goals, nine assists). Junior Kathleen Brush (Wethersfield, Conn.) (10 goals, six assists) including one of the two game-winning goals against Endicott College in the CNE Championship and senior Mayson Massaro (Sarasota, Fla.) also will pose big threats for the offensive attack on Saturday. 

• Defensively senior Sejal Johnson (Weddington, N.C.) continues to shine with a 0.94 goals against average on the year and a 14-3-2 record. Johnson has made 78 saves in 1,624 minutes and has two shutouts in postseason play. The back line features junior Mia Mangalji (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Caroline Tomas (Stony Point, N.Y.) who have both played key roles all season. Senior Andrea Buzas (Wethersfield, Conn.) and junior Morgan Egan (East Granby, Conn.) have also stepped up big, moving to the outside back position in the latter part of the season and finding success. 

• In the midfield watch out for holding midfielder junior Reese Sadler (Newington, Conn.) who put away the game winning goal over Endicott College in a penalty goal this past weekend to give the Hawks their champ title, while sophomore Angela Chávez (Glastonbury, Conn.) will continue to spark some creativity off the bench. 

• Head coach John Natale looks to make his second NCAA Tournament appearance after his first in 2006 where they ultimately fell to 12th ranked Rutgers in their opening round.

University of Rochester Highlights:

• Rochester enters Saturday's contest with an 8-3-6 overall record, having faced one of the nation's toughest schedules in the UAA. This will be the Yellowjackets 23rd NCAA postseason appearance for their program. The Yellowjackets conceded just 13 goals all season while registering six shutouts.

• Offensively, Rochester is led by Hannah Nagashima and Natalie Santangelo. Nagashima co-lead the team in scoring with 10 points, earning three goals, four assists playing all of 17 games. She also was recently named to the Second Team All-UAA selection. Santangelo matched Nagashima's stat sheet with 10 points, three goals, and four assists.

• The defensive unit is anchored by junior Eileen Harvey named to First-Team All-UAA this past Tuesday morning starting in all 17 games playing a combined time of 1,435 minutes to hold down the back-line. Joining Harvey is Claudia Ferreira, Remi Cherkas, and Sydney Moore. Moore holds a 5-2-4 record in net playing in 12 of the 17 games putting up an impressive 0.776 save percentage for the Yellowjackets

All-Time Against Rochester:
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Hawks and Yellowjackets.

Second-Round Preliminary Preview: Winner Plays Winner of #12 Middlebury College v. Westfield State

The winner of Hartford vs. Rochester will take on the winner of Middlebury College vs. Westfield State the next day, Sunday, November 16th at 1:00 p.m. 

Host #12 Middlebury College enters the NCAA tournament as one of the top teams in the nation, posting a 11-3-3 overall record, claiming the NESCAC Championship for the first time since 2022. The Panthers house one of Division III's most efficient defenses allowing less than 0.6 goals per game this season. Olivia Colby leads the team with 10 points with six assists while Taya McClennen tabbed four goals.

Should Westfield State advance, the Owls bring a high-powered offense to this second round after winning the MASCAC Championship. The team held an overall 9-5-6 record with a 6-0-2 in their conference. The Owls are coming off a three-game winning streak to close their season. Westfield State has averaged 2.4 goals per game this season.

NCAA Tournament Information:

Bracket Link: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/soccer-women/d3/2025

Live Game Coverage: Hartford vs. Rochester: https://www.ncaa.com/game/6529706

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