GORHAM, Maine  – For the first time in program history, the University of Southern Maine Huskies women's soccer team is headed to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.  The Huskies (17-3) claimed the Little East Conference's automatic bid to the tournament after winning the LEC's tournament championship with a 3-1 overtime decision against Western Connecticut State. Southern Maine, the 2022 LEC Regular Season Champion, was the top-seed in the tournament, defeating Castleton University 2-0 in the semifinal and WestConn 3-1 in the championship.
 
Southern Maine will face Williams College on Saturday, November 12 (1:30 pm) in the first round at host site Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Joining the four team pod with the Huskies, Williams and MIT is Sarah Lawrence.  Including the 44 automatic qualifiers (Pool A), one Pool B selection and 19 at-large (Pool C) bids announced today, 64 teams will vie for the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championship Title. 
 
Led by sixth-year head coach Seth Benjamin '00 (51-22-5), the Huskies have had a historic 2022 season, earning the program's first regular season title, tournament championship title and number one seed.  Along the way, Southern Maine has set program benchmarks for wins in a season (17), conference wins in a season (7-1), longest win streak (12), longest unbeaten streak (12), shutouts in a season (12), and goals in a season (65). 
 
Individually, several Huskies have had standout performances including USM's leading goal scorer junior Catriona Gould (Freeport, Maine), rookie forward Julia McKenna (Windham, Maine), junior back Mia Sargent (Portland, Maine/Deering), junior goalkeeper Breanna Atwood (Franklin, Mass.) and graduate student Ciera Berthiaume (Windham, Maine). 

Gould set the Huskies' single-season goal record and has 20 goals and seven assists heading into the NCAA tourney.  McKenna, the Huskies' second leading scorer, has 12 goals and 2 assists and has been named the LEC's Rookie of the Week four times.  The 2022 LEC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, Sargent leads the Huskies from the back and has helped her team limit its opponents to a 0.80 goals against average.  Atwood, a three-time LEC Goalkeeper of the Week pick, set the program's record for individual shutouts in a season with 11. She has 15 in her career and is third all-time.  Berthiaume, the Huskies all-time leading scorer, has 43 goals and 20 assists in her career for 106 points.  She is the first USM women's soccer player to reach and surpass 100 points in her career.
 
2022 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament
MIT, Cambridge, Mass. | November 12-13
 
Who:    MIT (14-5-2), Sarah Lawrence (14-3-3), Williams (10-4-2), Southern Maine (17-3)
When:   Saturday through Sunday, November 12-13, 2022
Where: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. – Roberts Field
 
Southern Maine Team Info:
Record: 17-3 (7-1 Little East); 2022 Little East Regular Season Champion, 2022 Little East Tournament Champion
Head Coach: Seth Benjamin '00, (6^th season), 51-22-5 Overall, 19-13-1 Little East
NCAA Tournament Appearances: First
All-Time Record in NCAA Tournament Play: 0-0
 
 
Huskies to Watch: Catriona Gould, Jr., Forward (20 g, 7 a, 47 pts); Julia McKenna, So., Forward (12 g, 2 a, 26 pts); Gaby Panagakos, Gr., Forward (7 g, 7 a, 21 pts); Ciera Berthiaume, Gr., Forward (7 g, 4 a, 18 pts); Mia Sargent, Jr., Back, (2 g, 1 a, 5 pts); Kiki Huntress, So., Midfield, (1 g, 2 a, 4 pts); Devon Gatz, Fr., Back, (0 g, 4 a, 4 pts); Breanna Atwood, Jr., Goalkeeper (16-3), 11 shutouts, 0.71 GAA, .873 Save Percentage
 
NCAA Division III NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship Tournament
 

School (Overall Record)	Conference	Yrs. Part.	Last App.	NCAA Record
Pitt-Greensburg (16-3-1)	AMCC	2	2019	0-1-0 (.000)
Loras (16-0-3)	ARC	16	2021	16-14-3 (.530)
Mary Hardin-Baylor (17-0-1)	ASC	2	2017	0-1-0 (.000)
Marywood (11-6-2)	AEC	3	2016	0-1-1 (.250)
Johns Hopkins (17-0-2)	Centennial	20	2021	31-18-3 (.625)
John Jay (12-2-2)	CUNYAC	3	2021	0-2-0 (.000)
Christopher Newport (16-0-2)	C2C	14	2021	15-12-0 (.556)
Illinois Wesleyan (10-4-3)	CCIW	13	2019	12-10-3 (.540)
Bryn Athyn (14-2-1)	CSAC	2	2021	0-1-0 (.000)
Western New England (13-5-2)	CCC	5	2006	0-4-0 (.000)
Messiah (17-1-2)	Commonwealth	22	2021	71-10-10 (.835)
Nazareth (8-4-7)	Empire 8	12	2021	8-11-1 (.425)
Misericordia (18-0-1)	Freedom	14	2021	12-13-3 (.482)
Johnson and Wales (19-2-1)	GNAC	5	2021	0-4-0 (.000)
Rose-Hulman (10-2-6)	HCAC	3	2019	0-2-0 (.000)
Scranton (16-2-1)	Landmark	21	2021	10-17-6 (.394)
Ithaca (12-3-4)	Liberty	29	2021	41-21-7 (.645)
Southern Maine (17-3-0)	LEC	1st	—	—
Westfield State (15-3-1)	MASCAC	9	2021	0-8-1 (.056)
Calvin (17-0-1)	MIAA	13	2021	13-8-5 (.596)
Grinnell (11-2-5)	MWC	5	2006	1-4-0 (.200)
St. Catherine (13-4-4)	MIAC	3	2021	1-2-0 (.333)
Emerson (12-3-5)	NEWMAC	1st	—	—
Lesley (12-7-1)	NECC	9	2021	0-8-0 (.000)
Amherst (16-2-0)	NESCAC	20	2021	32-14-5 (.677)
Rowan (13-0-4)	NJAC	15	2018	10-12-2 (.458)
SUNY Delhi (9-6-4)	NAC	1st	—	—
Denison (7-8-4)	NCAC	17	2016	13-15-4 (.469)
Concordia (Wis.) (17-3-2)	NACC	3	2019	0-2-0 (.000)
Pacific Lutheran (16-1-3)	NWC	5	2021	1-3-1 (.300)
Ohio Northern (13-1-5)	OAC	7	2021	6-6-2 (.500)
Lynchburg (11-3-7)	ODAC	21	2021	30-17-5 (.625)
Westminster (Pa.) (14-3-2)	Presidents'	6	2007	3-4-1 (.438)
Sarah Lawrence (13-3-3)	Skyline	1st	—	—
Centre (15-3-1)	SAA	12	2021	12-9-4 (.560)
Pomona-Pitzer (13-2-3)	SCIAC	6	2021	8-3-3 (.679)
Trinity (Texas) (20-0-1)	SCAC	27	2021	33-20-10 (.603)
Greenville (13-6-2)	SLIAC	1st	—	—
Geneseo State (11-4-3)	SUNYAC	10	2021	4-8-4 (.375)
Penn State-Berks (13-5-2)	UEC	8	2019	2-7-0 (.222)
Case Western Reserve (15-0-1)	UAA	4	2021	3-2-1 (.583)
UW-Superior (15-3-4)	UMAC	2	2021	0-1-0 (.000)
Methodist (16-2-1)	USA South	12	2017	11-11-0 (.500)
UW-La Crosse (19-1-1)	WIAC	5	2021	6-3-3 (.625)

 
 
Institution Selected From Pool B – 1 Berth
Piedmont (12-5-3) – CSC
 
Nineteen Institutions Selected from Pool C:

School (Overall Record)	Conference	Yrs. Part.	Last App.	NCAA Record
Bowdoin (10-4-2)	NESCAC	12	2015	3-10-2 (.267)
Capital (12-3-3)	OAC	8	2015	5-6-3 (.464)
Carnegie Mellon (12-2-2)	UAA	9	2021	15-4-5 (.729)
Cortland State (13-1-4)	SUNYAC	14	2019	11-10-6 (.519)
Emory (12-4-0)	UAA	20	2021	18-18-4 (.500)
MIT (14-5-2)	NEWMAC	11	2021	9-7-4 (.550)
Montclair State (16-2-1)	NJAC	8	2016	8-6-2 (.563)
Puget Sound (16-3-1)	NWC	18	2018	18-12-7 (.581)
RIT (12-3-3)	Liberty	4	2018	0-2-3 (.300)
Trinity (Conn.) (7-4-6)	NESCAC	3	2016	1-1-2 (.500)
Tufts (10-5-2)	NESCAC	9	2019	13-7-4 (.625)
Virginia Wesleyan (15-2-3)	ODAC	14	2021	8-12-4 (.417)
Wartburg (15-2-2)	ARC	10	2021	5-8-3 (.406)
Washington and Lee (14-1-5)	ODAC	7	2016	5-5-2 (.500)
Washington U. (8-5-6)	UAA	21	2021	44-15-10 (.710)
Wesleyan (8-5-5)	NESCAC	2	2021	4-1-0 (.800)
William Smith (11-1-6)	Liberty	32	2021	64-23-10 (.711)
Williams (10-4-2)	NESCAC	21	2019	45-17-9 (.697)
York (Pa.) (12-4-4)	Commonwealth	4	2015	3-3-0 (.500)

 
2022 Tournament Format and Dates

Four-team 1st/2nd Round Pods	Sat./Sun., Nov. 12-13 (or Fri./Sat., Nov. 11-12)*
Four-team Sectionals (Third and Fourth Rounds)	Sat./Sun., Nov. 19-20 (or Fri./Sat., Nov. 18-19)*
Final Four (Semifinals and Finals)	Men: Thu./Sat., Dec. 1 & 3 Women: Fri./Sun., Dec. 2 & 4

* - in the case of a participating school having a Sunday No-Play policy
: