Women’s Soccer Falls to Westfield State in Opening Round of NCAA Tourney

Matt Horan and Olivia Cappoli co-wrote this article.

The Emerson women’s soccer team would like to have won their first-round game of the NCAA III tournament, but even after losing, they can take solace knowing they went further than any Lions team before them.

Simone Barragan-Shaw ’24 scored the lone goal for the Lions, but Westfield State was able to come away with a late victory as they scored the game-winning goal in the second overtime as they ended the Lions 2022 season.

After a scoreless first half, Westfield State scored the first goal of the game six minutes into the second half.

Barragan-Shaw scored on a pass from Gina Lukoskie ’24 with less than 10 minutes to go in regulation, pushing the teams into overtime.

Overtime is two 10-minute overtime periods, and Westfield State’s Delaney Parker scored within the first minute of the second overtime. That would prove to be the winning goal for the Owls.  

With an ending overall record of 12-4-5 (7-1-3 NEWMAC), the Lions had the most successful season for the program. Six players won major awards:

Defensive Player of the Year: Yoshiko Slater ’25

All-Conference First Team: Cali Bruce ’23, Brittney Righetti ’24, Slater, Anna Swisher ’25

All-Conference Second Team: Barragan-Shaw, Amara Schaub ’25

The Lions coaching staff of head coach David Suvak and assistant coaches Collin Connolly and Kate Kohler, won the NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year award for the first time in program history.