The DII women's soccer championship heads to the national semifinals. We have quite the interesting mix of schools heading to Matthews, North Carolina — three teams have never won a national championship in women's soccer, while one is one of the winningest programs in championship history.
Franklin Pierce and Cal Poly Pomona are back in the national semifinals, although it has been quite a hiatus for both. Columbus State is making its second trip in three years while its opponent, Minnesota State, is making its semifinal debut. Let's break down the field.
Columbus State looks to stay lossless
If defense wins championships, well, Columbus State just doesn't care. The Cougars lead DII women's soccer in scoring, outscoring the second-closest team by nearly a full goal per game. This is what has become the expectation in Columbus, Georgia, as the Cougars have finished top three in scoring in each of the past four seasons.
The Cougars are onto their fourth semifinal appearance in program history and second since 2022. They are 22-0-2 and look to keep their record unblemished against semifinals' newbie Minnesota State. They'll do it behind a deep arsenal of scorers as four players — Sarah Hungerford, Vanessa Aviles, Michelle Medina and Abigail Akerson — scored at least 10 goals on the season. That doesn't include Emma Beddow, who had nine goals and 10 assists to pace the offense.
The Cougars aren't all pretty goals though. Goalkeeper Heidi Harris was the PBC defender of the year and allowed just 0.32 goals per game while saving 85.7 percent of shots on her. She hasn't allowed a goal in regulation thus far in the tournament, as the Cougars won 3-0, 6-0, 2-0, and then 4-3 in penalty kicks after two scoreless overtimes. This team is frighteningly balanced and it's pretty clear how they got the No. 1 seed.
Cal Poly Pomona parties like its 1999
Cal Poly Pomona is back in the national semifinals... for the first time this century. The last time the Broncos made it this far was 1999, when they won their semifinal match and fell to Franklin Pierce, 3-1, in the championship match. It is like Déjà vu all over again, as the Broncos drew the very same Ravens in their semifinal matchup.
The Broncos have had quite the storybook season. Their 20 wins are the most in program history, topping the 17-win mark set by that 1999 team. But let's look at two of those wins in particular. On Sept. 12, CPP bumped off defending national champion Point Loma 1-0, marking the first time in program history it took down the No. 1 nationally ranked team. It didn't take the Broncos long to match the feat. They blanked Colorado School of Mines 2-0 in the quarterfinals, marking the second time this team took down the national No. 1 this season.
Vanessa Cruz was a welcomed addition to this club, earning CCAA Player of the Year, CCAA Forward of the Year and CCAA Newcomer of the Year honors. Cruz led the CCAA in goals and game-winning goals. Since the Broncos' last, and only, loss, they have gone 8-0 outscoring its opponents 15-3 with five shutouts. That kind of momentum this time of year — paired with one of the best offensive players remaining in the bracket — is what helps make a national champion.
Franklin Pierce looks to add to its lore
The Ravens have the second most DII women's soccer national championships of all time, trailing Grand Valley State by two with five total. The thing is, they all came in a six-year span between 1994-99. They have been in a pair of national championship games since — losing in both 2003 and 2007 — but this is the first trip back to the semifinals since 2007 for one of the division's most decorated programs. That seems like an eternity.
Offensively, Claudia Peirce and Jenni Huttunen powered the NE10's top-scoring offense. The dynamic duo led the charge, combining for 24 goals and 11 assists on the season and earned First Team All-NE10 honors. It was Huttunen who scored both goals in the quarterfinals 2-1 victory over Shepherd to get the Ravens back in the semis.
The Ravens are well-balanced and are not just focused on goal-scoring. They also allowed the fewest goals per game in the NE10 and having Aino Martikainen in the backfield helped. Martikainen was the NE10 defender of the year but has also scored seven goals and assisted on two others. A simple look at the numbers shows how evenly matched the Ravens and Broncos are — it should be an interesting showdown.
Welcome to the party, Mavericks
What a nine-month run it has been for the Mavericks. The school won both the men's and women's DII basketball national championships; its football team is back in the semifinals for the third time in the last six years; and now, the women's soccer team is in uncharted territory, making their semifinals' debut among a sea of somewhat experienced programs. It's not only a first for Minnesota State — the Mavs are the first NSIC school to ever make it this far in the tournament.
The Mavericks dominated their way through the NSIC, winning both the regular season and conference tournament behind arguably the best defense in DII women's soccer. They have to lowest goals-against average in DII and that is helped by NSIC defensive player of the year Lucy Weninger and keeper Clare Longueville who led DII with a 94.1 save percentage and led the NSIC with a 0.240 goals-against average.
Minnesota State also led the NSIC offensively, tops in the conference with 1.96 goals per game. This sets up for quite the matchup. Columbus State is the top offense in DII facing off against this stingy defense. The Mavs will be put to the test, but we have seen they can handle it, taking down No. 1 Central Missouri and Grand Valley State — the winningest DII women's soccer team in history — in consecutive overtime thrillers, holding both powerhouses to a combined one goal.
The DII women's soccer championship semifinals, statistically speaking
| Stat | Cal Poly Pomona | Columbus State | Franklin Pierce | Minnesota State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scoring offense | 2.26 | 4.17 | 2..42 | 1.96 |
| Goals against avg. | 0.61 | 0.42 | 0.50 | 0.24 |
| Assist per game | 1.82 | 2.48 | 1.83 | 1.67 |
| Save percentage | 0.781 | 0.831 | 0.890 | 0.940 |
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