D-III Women's Final Four Preview: History, Pregame Reading and More
Two teams on opposite ends of the bracket have the opportunity to complete a perfect season in the Division III women’s Final Four this weekend in Salem, Va. The narratives write themselves.
Both Middlebury and William Smith have run roughshod through their competition this spring, and the chance to play each other both for an undefeated season and a national championship is certainly juicy. They’ll have to get past their semifinal opponents first, of course, and those teams — Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg — absolutely aren’t slouches.
Continue below for a primer on the weekend, including some light pregame reading and series history.
QUARTERFINALS RECAP | FULL BRACKET | DIVISION III TOP 20
SEMIFINALS SCHEDULE
FRIDAY — ALL TIMES EASTERN
12 p.m. — Middlebury v. Franklin & Marshall
3:00 p.m. — William Smith v. Gettysburg
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Sunday, May 28, 12 p.m. Eastern
MIDDLEBURY V. FRANKLIN & MARSHALL
PREGAME READING ON MIDDLEBURY: Middlebury, No. 1 in Nike/USA Lacrosse D-III Women's Top 20, Wins NESCAC Crown
PREGAME READING ON F&M: Three F&M Players Earn IWLCA All-American Distinction
SERIES HISTORY: Middlebury and Franklin & Marshall have met three times, with the Panthers holding a 2-1 edge. They have not played since 2019, though, and F&M has not beaten Middlebury since 2017.
ONE-LINER: Nothing has stopped Middlebury in 2023, though the Panthers just played their closest game of the season — a five-goal win over Colby.
WILLIAM SMITH V. GETTYSBURG
PREGAME READING ON WILLIAM SMITH: Division III Women's Recap: Montgomery Wills William Smith to NCAA Quarters
PREGAME READING ON GETTYSBURG: Jordan Basso is a USA Lacrosse Women's Players of the Week; Red-Hot Gettysburg Climbing Nike/USA Lacrosse Division III Women's Top 20
SERIES HISTORY: William Smith is 4-1 all time against Gettysburg, but that history should mean little here. The last meeting was in 2016 — a Bullets win — and the four previous meetings came between 1998-2001.
ONE-LINER: William Smith survived a third-round scare thanks to the heroic play of Maddie Montgomery, and Gettysburg can make a splash here in its first season after the retirement of Carol Cantele.
Kenny DeJohn
Kenny DeJohn has been the Digital Content Editor at USA Lacrosse since 2019. First introduced to lacrosse in 2016 as a Newsday Sports reporter on Long Island (yes, ON Long Island), DeJohn specializes in women's game coverage. His search for New York quality pizza in Baltimore is ongoing.