Division III Second Round Saturday: Union’s Fairytale Meets Middlebury and Harrisburg’s Heroes Face York

Wednesday gave Division III two of the upsets of the season. Saturday is where we find out whether they were one-offs or the start of something bigger. Eight second-round ties, four regional sites, all live on NCAA.com, and the regional finals follow on Sunday.

The tie of the round is at Middlebury at 11am ET. Union College, in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 52 years, thrashed No. 16 Babson 4-0 on Wednesday. First-year Caroline Ranucci scored twice and set up another, and Union scored three times from penalty corners. Now they get No. 2 Middlebury, the hosts, who had a bye through the first round. The Panthers are the second seeds in the whole tournament and they don’t lose at home often. But Union have already ended one giant’s season this week. Tess Parker, the NFHCA Division III National Defensive Player of the Week after backstopping Union to the Liberty League title, will need another huge game. For our money, this is the one to watch.

The second game at Middlebury is Hamilton against Wesleyan at 2pm ET. Hamilton beat Southern Maine 4-0 on Wednesday. Wesleyan hammered SUNY Geneseo 8-1. Both sides are scoring freely, and the winner goes to Sunday’s regional final.

Harrisburg’s history-makers

Over at Christopher Newport, the other upset winners are back in action. Penn State Harrisburg, playing their first NCAA tournament game ever, beat No. 6 Salisbury 2-1 on Wednesday. Sadie Cook and Alysa McCarthy scored a goal and set one up each, and the Lions held on while Salisbury outshot them 18-4. It’s Salisbury’s first loss in an NCAA first-round game since 1998. Harrisburg are 13-5, United East champions, and now they face York at 2pm ET. York earned it by beating Washington and Lee 2-0, both goals in the fourth quarter from Kelbie Linebaugh and Katelyn Landis. York are 17-4 and the favourites on paper. But Harrisburg have already proved paper means nothing this week.

The first game at Christopher Newport is the hosts against Ursinus at 11am ET. Ursinus needed overtime to beat Stevens 3-2 on Wednesday, Marie Brainard winning it 41 seconds into the extra period after Stevens had fought back from behind with two third-quarter goals. Christopher Newport had the bye and home advantage. Ursinus will be tired and battle-hardened in equal measure.

Tufts defend their crown at home

At Medford, defending champions Tufts open their title defence against Swarthmore at 11am ET. Swarthmore are in their second NCAA appearance and their first since 1996, and they made history on Wednesday with a 4-0 win over Scranton, the programme’s first-ever NCAA victory. Tufts are the hosts and the champions, and they’ll be expected to win. But Swarthmore have already made history once this week. Why stop there?

The second game at Tufts is the heavyweight clash of the round: Stevenson against Johns Hopkins at 2pm ET. Stevenson thrashed Colby-Sawyer 8-0 on Wednesday, the biggest win of the first round. Johns Hopkins, the Centennial champions, beat Denison 2-0, though Denison’s keeper made 14 saves to keep it respectable. The Blue Jays have won eight straight Centennial titles and they’re on a run: they haven’t lost since their one regular-season conference defeat to Swarthmore back on 7 October. This one could go either way.

Bowdoin’s first home regional in a decade

The fourth site is Bowdoin, hosting a regional for the first time since 2015. The hosts face Amherst at 11am ET. Amherst beat Endicott 2-1 on Wednesday to get here, and Bowdoin, 13-4, had the bye. The second game there is Williams against Rhodes at 2pm ET. Williams put seven past Bridgewater State on Wednesday. Rhodes pulled off the night’s third upset, winning 3-2 at Rowan, the NJAC champions. Rhodes are the underdogs again, and they clearly don’t mind that.

Regional finals are on Sunday, with the Bowdoin final at 1pm ET, and then it’s the Final Four in Geneva, New York, on Friday 20 November, with the championship on Sunday 22 November. Four teams will be left standing on Sunday night. After Wednesday, don’t assume you know which four.