November 12, 2015
 
TOURNAMENT NOTES
LIVE STATS/VIDEO
 
PENSACOLA, Fla. – The University of West Florida women's soccer team will face Nova Southeastern in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. CT in Miami, home of top regional seed Barry University.
 
NCAA Tournament History
West Florida is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 13th time in program history, and the Argos are one of just five teams in Division II to reach the championship match three times (Franklin Pierce, Grand Valley State, Barry, UC San Diego). The Argos have appeared in two of the last three NCAA Tournament Championship matches, winning the national title in 2012 and placing as national runners-up in 2013.
 
UWF's first appearance in the tournament came in 1999, when current UWF men's soccer head coach Bill Elliott was at the helm for both West Florida soccer programs. West Florida appeared once more in Elliott's tenure, in 2001. Since current women's soccer head coach Joe Bartlinski took the reins for the program, UWF has 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in 14 seasons.
 
Most recently, West Florida appeared in the 2013 NCAA Championship Finals Match, which resulted in a 2-0 loss to Grand Valley State and gave UWF its second national runner-up. UWF won the NCAA Championship the year before that with a 1-0 win over UC San Diego in the final match. Since 2005, UWF is 17-7 in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Players to Watch
West Florida has been led by a trio of top scorers this season. Daryl Bell (Sarasota, Fla./Southeast HS) ranks second in the GSC with 14 goals and 34 points. Kaley Ward (Saint Cloud, Fla./Tampa) ranks fourth in the conference with 24 points, and Amber Pennybaker (Indianapolis, Ind./Tampa) ranks sixth with 22 points. Bell, Ward and Pennybaker each rank in the GSC's top 10 in goals, assists and points, and UWF is the only team in the conference with three players in any of those categories.
 
The Argos have gotten production from the midfield as well, as Sara Helgadottir (Grindavik, Iceland/Menntaskolinn I Kopavogi) stands tied for the team lead with six assists, which places her in a tie for the fifth-most assists in the conference. West Florida has seen 10 players contribute five or more points this season, including first team All-GSC defenders Emily Vogler (Lynn Haven, Fla./Mosley HS) and Svenja Burkhardt (Bad Salzuflen, Germany/Gymnasium Hepeen).
 
Goalkeeping has been a point of strength for the Argonauts as well, as Emily Grammer (Panama City, Fla./Mosley HS) and Ana Chumik (Riga, Latvia/Riga Kengarags) have combined to allow a 0.72 GAA on the season, which ranks best in the GSC.
 
Last Time Against Nova
UWF has not faced Nova Southeastern since September 4, 2011, when the Argos fell 2-1 to the Sharks in Ft. Lauderdale. Julianne Gaubron (Niceville, Fla./Niceville HS) is the lone Argonaut left from the 2011 team, and Sharks leading scorer Sierra Lelii was the only player for Nova who is still at NSU. The game was the lone loss in the series for UWF, which is 3-1 all-time against Nova Southeastern.
 
Scouting Nova Southeastern
Nova brings in the top scoring offense in the Sunshine State Conference (2.41 goals per game) and a defense that ranks fourth in the conference in scoring (1.29 GAA). NSU boasts the top scorer, Lelii, and the player with the most assists, Samantha Gestido, in the SSC, and the two have provided much of the Sharks offense this season. Lelii leads the SSC with 39 points and 18 goals on the season. NSU has two other players in the top 25 of the conference in total points, as Emily Stearns and Gestido each have 12 points, which ranks 16th in the SSC.
 
Like West Florida, Nova has used a two-keeper rotation for much of the season, with Jordan Lentz and Amanda Kopale getting nearly equal minutes in net. Kopale has played 110 more minutes but has one less start than Lentz on the year, and she has posted a 1.13 GAA, compared to Lentz's 1.45. Lentz has posted a slightly better record (6-1-2) than Kopale (6-2), though Kopale has been credited with an extra shutout on the season.
 
UWF and Nova have played four similar opponents on the year: Lynn, Rollins, North Alabama and Tampa. West Florida went 3-1 against those teams, outscoring the opposition 12-6 in the process, which includes a 5-1 win at then-No. 1 Rollins in September. NSU went 3-1-1, as the Sharks played Tampa twice. Nova outscored opponents 9-7 and took Rollins to overtime late in the year, which resulted in a 2-1 loss.
 
For information on all UWF athletics, visit www.GoArgos.com.