Update: Friday's game vs. Nova Southeastern has been rescheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi .
NCAA BRACKET
MONTEVALLO, Ala. - When the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament selections were announced Monday evening, the Montevallo Falcons already knew they'd be in the 56-team field by virtue of their Gulf South Conference Tournament championship, won Sunday night in Pensacola, Fla., by defeating Lee University, 2-1.
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In a late-match rally, Montevallo scored twice in the final 12 minutes to douse the Flames to give the Falcons their first conference title since 2007 and punched their ticket to the NCAAs for the first time since that same year, when Montevallo won twice before losing to Tampa in the regional final.
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The 2019 Falcons learned their NCAA Tournmament fate Monday night and Montevallo (14-3-4) was named the No. 4 seed in the six-team South Region. Top seed Mississippi College will serve as host of the tournament, playing games at Tom Shepherd Field on the campus of Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. The Falcons will open tournament play against Sunshine State Conference member Nova Southeastern (14-3-2), which drew the fifth seed. The teams will square off in the opening round Friday at 1Â p.m. The winner will take on the top-seeded Choctaws (15-2) in the second round Sunday at 2 p.m.
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The other half of the South Regional will be played at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. Lee (16-5), which lost to Montevallo both in the regular season and in the GSC Tournament final, received the No. 2 seed, a first-round bye and will take on the winner of an all-SSC opening round match between No. 3 Rollins (12-4-2) and No. 6 Embry-Riddle (9-5-2). Embry-Riddle defeated Rollins in penalty kicks to win the SSC Tournament title on Sunday.
The other No. 1 seeds in the national tournament areÂ
GAME DAY CENTRAL
No. 4 University of Montevallo (14-3-4) vs. No. 5 Nova Southeastern (14-3-2)
When: Friday, Nov. 22
Where: Jackson, Miss.
Field:Â Belhaven Bowl Stadium
Location: 1500 Peachtree Street | Jackson, MSÂ | 39202
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.
Twitter: @MontevalloFan @UMFalcons
Instagram: @montevallofalcons
Facebook: University of Montevallo Athletics
ALL-TIME SERIES BREAKDOWN
Montevallo vs. Nova Southeastern
All-Time: 0-2-0
Away: 0-1-0
Home: 0-1-0
Neutral: 0-0-0
Last Meeting: The Sharks only scored one goal, but it was all Nova Southeastern needed to post a 1-0 win over the Falcons in Montevallo all the way back on Aug. 29, 2003.
Series Notes: UM is 0-2 all-time against Nova Southeastern. The Sharks won the first meeting, 3-2, in Davie, Fla. in 2002 before winning, 1-0, at Montevallo in 2003.Â
Streaks: Montevallo is 4-0-1 in its last five matches and the Falcons are 9-1-1 in their last 11 and 10-1-2 in their last 13 outings. Prior to losing to Rollins in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinals, Nova Southeastern had gone 4-0-1 in its previous five matches.Â
NEWS AND NOTES
- Montevallo clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Gulf South Conference Tournament title with a 2-1 victory over Lee University in Pensacola, Fla., on Sunday. It is the Falcons' first GSC title since 2007, the same year Montevallo made its last trip to the NCAAs. That year, Montevallo knocked off West Florida and Saint Leo before falling to Tampa in the regional final in Columbus, Ga.
- Montevallo's Tylor Ring - who scored the match-winning goal with less than three minutes to go in regulation- was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Joining Ring on the All-Tournament Team were Romee Contreras, Allye Darnell and Annie Mason
- Nova Southeastern was in the NCAAs each of the last four years, losing in the first round to Mississippi College, 3-0, in Miami Shores, Fla. in 2018, being eliminated on penalty kicks by Lee, 1-1 (3-2), in the first round in 2017 and dropping 1-0 decisions to West Florida in 2015 and 2016.
- The Falcons are 8-2-2 away from home this season (5-2-0 away, 3-0-2 neutral sites), while Nova Southeastern is 3-3-1 (all road games) away from its home pitch.
- Montevallo has outscored its opponents, 49-19, this season. The Falcons average 2.33 goals per match (fourth in the GSC) and allow only 0.90 goals per contest (also fourth). The Falcons have posted eight clean sheets in the 2019 campaign.
- Nova Southeastern has a high-powered offense, outscoring its opponents, 53-7, this season. The Sharks lead the SSC in both scoring (2.79 goals per match) and goals against average (0.37) and have posted 14 shutouts this season.
- Montevallo went 2-1 this season against NCAA Tournament qualifiers, winning both meetings with Lee (South Region No. 2) and losing its only match to Mississippi College. Nova Southeastern also went 2-1 against NCAA Tournament teams, splitting with Rollins (South Region No. 3 seed) and winning its only meeting with SSC Tournament champion Embry-Riddle (South Region No. 6 seed).
- The winner of the Montevallo-Nova Southeastern match will face the South Region's top seed, Mississippi College (15-2), on Sunday in the second round. The Choctaws advanced to the semifinals of the GSC Tournament before falling to Lee and went a perfect 12-0 in the GSC in the regular season.
- The other half of the South Region is being hosted by Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. The Flames (16-5) - the No. 2 seed - received a bye and will take on the winner of No. 3 Rollins (12-4-1) and No. 6 Embry-Riddle (9-5-2). Embry-Riddle upended Rollins Sunday in the finals of the SSC Tournament, winning a penalty kick shootout, 4-3, after the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation and two overtime periods.Â
TEAM LEADERS
MONTEVALLO
- Contreras leads the Falcons in goals (eight), assists (10) and points (26) on 47 shots, including 22 shots on goal. She is second in the GSC in assists and also ranks in the top 10 in points and goals.
- Samara Lino also has seven goals and three assists for 17 points for UM on 45 shots, 23 of which were on goal. Her 23 SOG is tops on the team.
- Hernandez is tops on the team in shots (60), shots on goal (21) and has added two goals and two assists for the Falcons.
- Other offensive threats for the Falcons are Kira Bochard (six goals, 13 points), Kaeri Ward (five goals, 12 points) and Ring (four goals, four assists, 12 points).
- Hannah Waki has played the most minutes (1,820) among the field players for the Falcons and made the match-winning penalty kick in the Falcons' shootout victory over West Florida in the GSC Tournament semifinals.
- Annie Mason and Judith Perez-Bayon have split time in goal, with Mason making 65 saves and allowing 10 goals in 1,544:59 of work and Perez-Bayon making nine saves and yielding nine goals in 613:36 in net. Mason's .867 save percentage leads the GSC and 0.66 goals against average is good for third.
- Fourteen different players have scored for Montevallo this season, with 11 of those finding the back of the net multiple times. In all, 18 different Montevallo players have at least one point in 2019 and seven players have eight points or more for the Falcons.Â
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN
- Hannah Christophe leads a powerful offensive attack, scoring 13 goals and adding five assists for 31 points on 55 shots and 28 shots on goal. She also has four match-winning goals and is second in match-winning goals, points and goals and she's also in the top five in the SSC in shots.
- Emma Heikkila is the 2 in the Sharks' 1-2 offensive punch, netting 10 goals, seven assists and 27 points on 78 shots, including 36 on goal. Like Christophe, she's got four-match winning goals for the Sharks and is second in the conference in shots, third in match-winning goals, fourth in points and goals and sixth in assists.
- Christophe and Heikkila aren't the Sharks' only offensive threats, as Nova Southeastern has six other players who have scored at least three goals and eight players total who have at least six points this season.
- Four players have seen time in goal for the Sharks, with most of the minutes being shared by Natalie Robayna and Shannon Hearty. Robayna has made 41 saves and allowed five goals (.891 save percentage, 0.56 GAA) in 806:48 of work, while Hearty has yielded just two goals and made 15 saves (.882 save percentage, 0.20 GAA) in 904:24. Hearty leads the SSC in goals against average and is second in save percentage, while Robayna tops the league in save percentage.
