Virginia Beach, VA- Bryant & Stratton Syracuse Women's Soccer captured their first ever USCAA National Title on Sunday afternoon at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex, after defeating the University of Maine Fort Kent 1-0. The Bobcats finished the tournament with a record of 3-0.
Bryant & Stratton - Syracuse entered the tournament as the second seed after posting a 5-3-1 record in the regular season. They opened pool play with a decisive win over St. Mary of the Woods College, winning 4-1 with goals coming from four different players. The Bobcats played a much closer game the following day, posting a clean sheet against Florida National Universityin a 2-0 victory. Junior forward, Chresilda Cox, opened the scoring in the 30th minute and sophomore midfielder, Marie Seeger added a second goal in the 73rd minute on an assist from junior forward, Lyla Lionel. Bryant & Stratton - Syracuse had an impressive 23 shots on goal in their two pool play games.
The Bobcats came back to Virginia Beach a stronger team in 2021 after not making the National Championship game in 2019, finding themselves in a match against the defending USCAA National Champions, the Bengals of the University of Maine Fort Kent. The Bengals entered the tournament as the number one seed and came into the Championship game 2-0 in pool play after a 3-0 win over Bluefield State College and a 1-0 win over D'Youville College. The top two seeds in DI Women's Soccer played a tight match for all 90 minutes, but a goal from freshman forward, Marina Nawa, in the 38th minute that decided the game and secured the National Championship for Bryant & Stratton- Syracuse. Junior goalkeeper, Maria Gabriela Cordeiro Batista, finished off a stellar tournament with a shutout and five saves in net. Head coach, Alex Grigorita, capped off a great season and led his team to the 2021 USCAA Division I Women's Soccer National Title.
All-Tournament Team
Abigail Scott | Midfield | St. Mary of the Woods
Emma Russell | Forward | D'Youville College
Sarah Milczarski | Defense | D'Youville College
Maria Cordfiro | Goal Keeper | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Gizela Carranza | Forward | University of Maine Fort Kent
Brittany Thompson | Defense | University of Maine Fort Kent
Marie Seeger | Midfield | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Kira Schulte | Defense | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Chresilda Cox | Forward | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Sophia Noe | Midfield | University of Maine Fort Kent
Lyla Lionel | Forward | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Tournament MVP
Marina Nawa | Forward | Bryant & Stratton
Player of the Year
Bekah Gonzalez | University of Dallas
Coach of the Year
Alex Grigorita | Bryant & Stratton Syracuse
Student-Athlete of the Year
Layla Wilson | Mississippi University for Women