Cortland Sports Information Department
The Cortland women's soccer team will be making its 15th NCAA Division III tournament appearance and 20th overall national tournament showing when the Red Dragons travel to a four-team regional hosted by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11-12.
Cortland (11-2-5) will face John Carroll University (13-1-5) in a first-round game Saturday in the day's second game at 1:30 p.m. Case Western (11-1-4) will face Grove City (14-4-1) in Saturday's first contest at 11 a.m., and the two winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m. at Case Western in the second round. The regional champion will advance to a four-team sectional Nov. 18-19 at a site to be determined. The NCAA semifinals and finals will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 2 in Salem, Va.
Cortland, under 20th-year head coach Heidi Axtell, earned an NCAA automatic berth after defeating Brockport, 3-0, in the SUNYAC championship game Saturday at Cortland. The Red Dragons are heading to the NCAA playoffs for third time in four seasons. Last season, Cortland hosted Wesleyan University in the first round and played to a 1-1 tie before being eliminated in penalty kicks.
Cortland tied for ninth nationally in 2012 and advanced to the national quarterfinals to tie for fifth place in 2011. The Red Dragons were the 1992 NCAA Division III champion, were national runner-up in 1990, and were a national semifinalist in 1986. Cortland's previous national appearances include four NCAA Division I tournaments from 1982-85 and a win in the 1980 U.S. National Women's Soccer Championship, which predated the NCAA playoffs.
Cortland is led by senior Kayla Valerioti (Oakdale/Connetquot), who has six goals and four assists for 16 points in 18 starts. Freshman Tyla Vuotto (Lynbrook) has totaled five goals and four assists for 14 points in 18 starts and senior Simone Neivel (Baldwinsville/C.W. Baker) has five goals and two assists for 12 points in 17 games, 16 as a starter. Junior goalie Kristen Spendal (Dumont, NJ) has started all 18 games and has a 0.68 GAA, an .836 save percentage and eight solo shutouts. Graduate student defender Bryn Thompson (Hopewell Junction/Arlington) was named the SUNYAC Tournament MVP after helping the Red Dragons post the shutout in the title game.
John Carroll earned an NCAA automatic berth after defeating Ohio Northern, 2-1, in the finals of the Ohio Athletic Conference tournament Saturday. The Blue Streaks are making their second NCAA tournament appearance and first since 2001.
Case Western was the 2022 NCAA Division III runner-up and also appeared in the national tournament in 2011, 2019 and 2021. Cortland won at Case, 2011, in the NCAA second round. Grove City will be making its sixth NCAA tournament appearance overall and third in five seasons.
