DANBURY, Conn. – The Western Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team, which has a 15-3 record and won their second consecutive Little East Conference (LEC Championship Tournament in a row with an 11-9 victory over Southern Maine on Saturday, has qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the second year in a row and the fourth time in six years, and will face the St. John Fisher University Cardinals in the opening round on Saturday, May 9 at Middlebury College.  WestConn, coached by Rachael Griffith (3rd Season), advanced to the NCAA Second Round last spring, downing Merchant Marine, 15-11, in the opening round before falling, 20-5, at Rowan the next day.  The Wolves also previously competed in the NCAA Tourney in 2021 and 2022.  The winner of Saturday's game will play the Middlebury College Panthers on Sunday, May 10.  Both games will start at 1 p.m. and tickets will be $6.30 for adults, $3.15 for senior citizens and students, children (4-18) $2.15, and children under 3 will be admitted free of charge.

The NCAA Tournament consists of a 47-team field with 31 slots dedicated to automatic qualifiers and the remaining 16 berths to at-large candidates chosen by the selection committee.  Second round winners advance to one of four regional sites Saturday and Sunday, May 17-18.  Winners of the four regionals will advance to the semifinals and final, which take place Friday and Sunday, May 22-24 at Judson Stadium in Rochester, New York.  WestConn is 2-3 all-time in the tournament, having gone 1-1 last year and in 2021 and 0-1 in 2022.  The Wolves defeated Johnson and Wales (R.I.), 20-5, in the 2021 NCAA First Round before falling, 18-4, against College of New Jersey in the second round.  In 2022, the Wolves lost, 18-8, at SUNY Cortland.  The St. John Fisher Cardinals are 15-4 and earned their NCAA automatic bid when they downed SUNY Geneseo, 12-10, in the Empire Eight Conference Finals. WestConn is 2-3 against the teams in the NCAA Tournament thanks to an 18-5 win at Farmingdale State and a 19-7 victory versus Worcester State, coupled with road losses against Cortland and Tufts and an 11-4 setback versus Trinity College at home this spring. 

WestConn recovered from a 1-2 start on the road against three teams in the current NCAA field before rattling off four wins in a row to stand at 5-2 on March 21.  After the loss to Trinity College on March 25, the Wolves have been perfect and hold a 10-game winning streak.  WestConn did not lose an LEC game this spring, winning seven of eight by double digits before trouncing Plymouth State, 18-3, in the LEC Semifinals and outlasting Southern Maine in the finals.  WestConn led the LEC in goals, assists, points, shots, and woman-up goals, while committing the least amount of turnovers in the conference.  Senior attacker Madison Ratchford (Ridge, N.Y.) led the LEC in goals with 80 goals to go with 25 assists for 105 points, while junior midfielder Isabella Pota (East Meadow, N.Y.) added 73 goals and 25 assists for 98 points, and graduate midfielder Vicky Gracy (Bethel, Conn.) has 47 goals and a team-high 26 assists.  Ratchford and Pota have combined for 160 draw controls between them, while junior midfielder Madison Preston (Brookfield, Conn.) is seventh in the LEC with 35 caused turnovers, and classmate Norah Zuidema (Marlboro, N.Y.) was second in the league with a 7.08 GAA.