Women's Soccer Set to Host 2009 Northeast Conference Championships - Watch and Follow Every Match Live
For the fifth time in its history, the Central Connecticut State University women's soccer team will host the Northeast Conference Championships. The Blue Devils, who won the regular season NEC title with a 9-0-1 conference mark, will face fourth seed Long Island in the first match of the tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. Second seed Monmouth and third seed Quinnipiac will meet in the other semifinal. The championship will be held on Sunday at 1 p.m. All matches will take place on the CCSU Soccer Field in New Britain. Fans can follow every match live by clicking on the link below or by going to NortheastConference.tv.
For the fifth time in its history, the Central Connecticut State
University women's soccer team will host the Northeast Conference
Championships. The Blue Devils, who won the regular season NEC
title with a 9-0-1 conference mark, will face fourth seed Long
Island in the first match of the tournament on Friday at 11 a.m.
Second seed Monmouth and third seed Quinnipiac will meet in the
other semifinal. The championship will be held on Sunday at 1
p.m. All matches will take place on the CCSU Soccer Field in New
Britain. Fans can follow every match live by clicking on the link
below or by going to NortheastConference.tv.
NEC Tournament Preview
NEC Tournament Headquarters (Live
Streaming Video, Live Stats)
CENTRAL TOURNAMENT NOTES
CCSU and the NEC
Tournament
• The Blue Devils are playing in their eighth straight NEC
Tournament this afternoon, the longest active streak in the
league.
• CCSU has won seven conference titles since 1997. They won
in 1997 and 1998 and then won four straight including 2002, 2003,
2004 and 2005. Last season marked their seventh title. CCSU has
won the NEC title at home four previous times.
• The Blue Devils are 14-3 all-time in the NEC Tournament,
winning seven titles. Their three losses came in 1999 to Long
Island, 2006 to Monmouth and 2007 to Sacred Heart. CCSU has
reached the final seven times and won the title each of those
times.
Success When
Hosting
The Blue Devils are hosting the NEC Tournament for the fifth time
in their history. The previous four times that they hosted (1997,
1998, 2002 and 2004) they were victorious and won the NEC title.
They are 8-0 all-time at home in NEC Tournament action.
CCSU's NEC
History
The Blue Devils are now 59-11-4 in NEC games dating back to the
2002 season. They are 70-19-5 in league play in 10 seasons under
head coach Mick D'Arcy and 96-21-6 all-time in NEC action, dating
back to their first season in 1996. They have won seven or more
league games seven times in that span, including nine this
season.
Scoring in the
NEC
The Blue Devils outscored their opponents 33-8 in league games this
season. The Blue Devils picked up their offense and defense as the
season went along. In the final seven games of the year,
outscoring league opponents 24-4 and posting three shutouts and not
allowing more than one goal in any of those games. Central had
five total shutouts on the season.
Home Success -
14-0-1 in Last 15
The Blue Devils finished the regular season unbeaten at home for
the second straight season, posting a 5-0-1 record. They have not
dropped a home game since a 2-1 loss to Quinnipiac on Oct. 7,
2007. CCSU is 14-0-1 in its last 15 home games dating back to that
loss. The tie was against Long Island earlier this season.
Unbeaten in the
NEC
The Blue Devils finished the regular season unbeaten in Northeast
Conference play (9-0-1) for the fifth time in their history and the
first time since 2005. The Blue Devils have not finished lower
than third in the conference standings since the 2001 season.
Leah
Blayney
Senior Leah Blayney has had one of the best individual statistical
seasons in school history, leading the conference with 33 points on
10 goals and 13 assists. The senior from New South Wales now has
60 career points, good for a tie for fourth place all-time in
school history. Here 33 points this season are the third-highest
single season total in program history, behind only 49 from Jane
McFarlane in 1997 and 38 from Kelly Shimmin in 2003. Her 13
assists this year are the second-highest single season total in
school history, behind 16 from Shimmin in 2003.
Beth
Lloyd
Junior Beth Lloyd continued her torrid scoring pace in the NEC,
posting four goals and a pair of assists in a 2-0 week for the Blue
Devils last week. Lloyd, who finished the regular season with a
team-high 11 goals, scored two goals and added an assist in the win
over St. Francis (PA) at home on Friday. She scored the first goal
of the game for Central, then later assisted on a goal and scored
the final goal of the game as the Blue Devils clinched the regular
season NEC title. On Sunday, she matched her performance from
Friday, posting another two goals and adding an assist. She scored
the first and second goals of the game for Central in the 4-0 win
over Robert Morris. She assisted on the third goal of the game.
She finished the year with 11 goals in her final 12 games. Nine of
her goals on the year came against league opponents, and she had
four game-winners. Her 11 goals this season are tied for the
third-highest single season total in school history.
Defense,
Defense
The Blue Devil defense, led by seniors Karise Hilt and Caity Casey,
allowed just three goals in the final six games of the season,
helping Central go 5-0-1 during that span. In league action
Central allowed only 0.78 goals against per game, allowing eight
goals in 10 games. Included in those games were four shutouts
against league opponents (Bryant, Wagner, Monmouth and Robert
Morris).