Division III Rewind: Close Calls, Late-Game Magic

The NCAA tournament is under way, and the first two rounds provided some real fireworks, with a slate full of close contests and late-game heroics.

Here are the biggest games, stories and numbers from the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

BEST GAME

Pomona-Pitzer vs. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was playing in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2022, and the program won its first-round matchup against Whitman. The reward was going up against rival Pomona-Pitzer, the team responsible for three of its five previous losses.

The fourth time wasn’t the charm, though it took the Sagehens the entirety of the game to separate themselves this time.

Although Pomona-Pitzer was down 11-10 going into the fourth quarter, and although the Athenas extended the lead to two goals on two occasions, the Sagehens scored the final three goals of the game; that included two from Taylor Glanville, whose free-position goal at the buzzer capped the thrilling comeback. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps had to play two players down for the final minute because of green cards issued.

Glanville led Pomona-Pitzer with four goals while Madeleine Trapp tallied a team-high five points.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Cortland vs. Colby

The Red Dragons were the only team to knock out a program from the NESCAC — beating 2025 semifinalist Colby — and they did so in dominant fashion. Cortland raced out and scored the first four goals of the game to take control of the contest, and they used a five-goal third quarter to essentially put the contest out of reach, even after Colby outscored Cortland 3-2 in the fourth quarter.

Senior attack Emma Dempsey led the way with four goals, while junior goalie Trinity Parks made a season-best 10 saves.

OVERTIME THRILLER

Christopher Newport vs. Washington and Lee

The Captains only scored eight goals in the team’s second-round contest against the Generals, but it was all they needed to beat Washington and Lee 8-7 in overtime.

Throughout the first three quarters, Washington and Lee killed any momentum Christopher Newport tried to accumulate. The Generals scored first, scored the final three goals in the second quarter and responded with a goal in the third after the Captains scored first to start the half.

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Christopher Newport made progress to eliminate the deficit, shutting out Washington and Lee in the final frame while outscoring them 3-0. Two of those goals, including the game-tying goal with just over four minutes remaining, came from Elena Sorkin.

In overtime, Brookelynn Morrison found Brooklynn Peterson for the winner. It was Morrison’s third assist of the game and Peterson’s second goal.

The eight goals for Christopher Newport were the fewest the Captains have scored in a victory this season, but the defense didn’t allow more than seven goals in either of its first two NCAA tournament games.

COMEBACK IN JERSEY

Rowan vs. Scranton

Scranton seemed to have all the momentum at the start of the fourth quarter. Jessica McCabe had just scored her third consecutive goal, and the Royals had scored four unanswered goals to take an 11-8 lead.

That goal was their final score, as the Profs stormed back scoring the game’s final five goals, all of which were scored by either Elaina Corson or Madison Rothwein, to win the game. The defense also did its part, shutting out Scranton for the final 11 minutes. Goalie Kylie Durboraw made eight saves on the day.

Rothwein and Corson have been a dynamic duo all season for the Profs. The former was the NJAC Midfielder of the Year, and the latter is the program’s all-time leading scorer — so it was no surprise to see the two will the team to victory.

BEST INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

CJ Kole, TCNJ

Kole scored a career-high seven goals and tallied four assists in TCNJ’s 18-11 win against Messiah. She also won eight draw controls. She moved into a tie for 11th in school history in career assists, and she surpassed 200 career points.

Honorable mention: Lindsey Diomede, Wesleyan

The senior midfielder continued to be a force on the defensive end, causing five turnovers and picking up four ground balls in Wesleyan’s 18-3 victory over Cortland.

BY THE NUMBERS

292

With seven points (6G, 1A) in the first round victory against Endicott and another hat-trick in the second round loss to Tufts, Haverford co-captain Brooke Epstein broke the school records for goals in a career (219) and points in a career (292), passing Lindsay Carey Bean (2000) in both categories.

12

With an 11-10 victory over William Smith, Williams is headed to the round of 16 for the first time since 2014, a drought of 12 seasons. The Ephs had to make a late defensive stand, holding off the Herons for the final minute, but the defense kept the opposition from even attempting a final shot.

8

Chicago got eight points apiece from both Wynne Boggan (4G, 4A) and Kaylin Oey (6G, 2A) in the team’s 23-7 win over Hope. Oey was a perfect 6-for-6 on shot attempts.

367

In Gettysburg’s 26-4 win over Husson in the first round, Julia Daly set the program record for career points with four goals and one assist. She followed that up with another four goals and two assists against MIT in the second round to extend her new record to 367. She’ll likely continue to add to the total when the Bullets take on Tufts in a rematch of last year’s semifinal matchup.

17

With its first round victory over Farmingdale State, Wooster tied a program record, initially set last year, with 17 victories in a season. Kylie MacMillan led the team with four goals, and Brynne Snaguski tallied four points, three ground balls, and three caused turnovers. Goalie Audrey Richardson tallied 11 saves.