Getting Their Kicks

D3Playbook DECEMBER 9, 2019 | written by Steve Ulrich your must-read briefing on what's driving the day in NCAA Division III Our goal is to keep you - the influencers in DIII athletics - apprised of what's happening around Division III - the games, polls, news, happenings, awards, calendar of events, and much more. We hope you enjoy d3Playbook and that you'll share this with your friends, colleagues and co-workers.

>> Good Monday morning. Congrats to Tufts and Messiah on their respective soccer championships. >> Thanks for reading D3Playbook. Please invite your colleagues to sign up below. >> Today's Word Count: 1,443. A lot of news in a format that you can use.

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1.  Getting Their Kicks The Tufts men and the Messiah women captured the 2019 NCAA Division III soccer championships Saturday in Greensboro, N.C. The Jumbos made it back-to-back titles and four in six seasons with a 2-0 triumph against Amherst. Gavin Tasker and Max Jacobs tallied for Tufts who won NCAA championships in 2014 and 2016 as well. NESCAC Proud: It is the first time since the tourney began in 1974 that two teams from the same conference battled in the national final. The top-ranked Falcons won their sixth NCAA title with a 1-0 victory over No. 2 William Smith. Maddie Kohl scored the championship-winning goal in the 55th minute off a feed from Ellie Lengacher.  Stand Alone: Messiah's other championships came in 2005-08-09-11-12. The Falcons now stand alone with the most NCAA soccer crowns, breaking a tie with UC San Diego.

2. Four on Three The final four in Division III football is set after Saturday's quarterfinal action. Saint John's 34, Wheaton (Ill.) 33 In the wildest ending of the day, Wheaton scored with :09 left to cut Saint John's lead to 34-33. But celebration penalty in the end zone forced a 35-yard extra point. The initial kick was missed, but offsetting penalties allowed another opportunity which was also missed. SJU QB Jackson Erdmann threw for 407 yards and five TDs. UW-Whitewater 26, Mary Hardin-Baylor 7 There will be a new champion in DIII football, as the Warhawks eliminated the Cru. UWW controlled the ball for 42:45, rushing for 221 yards and limiting UMHB to just 140 total yards, including minus-3 on the ground. RB Jarrod Ware rushed for 110 yards and two scores for the Warhawks. Muhlenberg 24, Salisbury 8 QB Mike Hnatkowsky threw for 264 yards and three TDs, while the Mule defense limited the Sea Gulls to just 176 total yards. Muhlenberg did allow its first points of the tournament to a team that entered the game averaging 51 in the playoffs. North Central 31, Delaware Valley 14 Broc Rutter threw for 263 yards with DeAngelo Hardy pulling in nine balls for 132 for the Cardinals. The Aggies closed a 17-0 halftime deficit to three on an 85-yard TD pass from Anthony Fontana to Dan Allen but could get no closer. Semifinals - Dec. 14 North Central (Ill.) at Muhlenberg, 12:00 EST Saint John's at UW-Whitewater, 2:00 CST games will be aired on ESPN3

3.  Best of the Decade We continue our "Best of the Decade" series with a look at the champions, runners-up and top four finishers in cross country. Champions: North Central (6), Haverford, Pomona-Pitzer, St. Olaf, UW-Eau Claire. Runner-Up: North Central (3), Calvin, Geneseo, Haverford, St. Olaf, UW-La Crosse, Washington U., Williams. Top Four Finishes: North Central (9), Washington U. (6), UW-La Crosse (5), Haverford (4), Geneseo (3), St. Olaf (3), UW-Eau Claire (2), Williams (2), Amherst, Calvin, Christopher Newport, Pomona-Pitzer, St. Lawrence, UW-Platteville. Champions: Johns Hopkins (6), Washington U. (2), Middlebury, Williams. Runner-Up: Washington U. (3), Geneseo, Johns Hopkins, Middlebury, MIT, UW-Eau Claire, Wartburg, Williams. Top Four Finishes: Johns Hopkins (8), Washington U. (7), Williams (6), MIT (5), Middlebury (3), UW-Eau Claire (3), Chicago (2), Claremont-M-S (2), Geneseo (2), St. Lawrence, Wartburg. Tomorrow: Soccer.

4.  ICYMI   The weekend in hoops. Gustavus Adolphus' women ended St. Thomas' 77-game conference win streak with a 62-57 road win. It was the Tommies' first MIAC loss since January 2016. Amina Wiley scored 20 points and grabbed 32 rebounds in Mitchell's 56-44 win vs. Anna Maria. Jason Ellis scored 51 points to lead #8 Marietta to a 104-98 win against John Carroll.  Springfield defeated Williams, 76-75, for the Pride's first win against the Ephs since 2004. Jake Ross became the program's all-time leading scorer. Congrats to Lasell for winning its first game of the season - a stunning 96-89 win against #7 Nichols. And tip o' the hat to Augustana's Greg Giovanine for winning his 500th career game - a 65-63 OT victory against Carroll. On the ice ... Brandon Collett made 54 saves, including 24 in a frenetic final period, as Castleton upset #2 Norwich, 2-1. Adam Withers' second goal of the game with 16:28 remaining in the third period proved to be the difference as Southern Maine upset #3 Hobart, 3-2. Ary Ziakas stopped 44 shots, including 19 in the third and six in OT, as the Saint Mary's women tied #4 Gustavus, 2-2, on Friday. And in the pool ... Whittier captured the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III Collegiate Men's Water Polo National Championship with a 5-3 triumph against Claremont-M-S. Poet GK Murat Ersoz was named the MVP.

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5. Weekend Review Ice Hockey (M) - USCHO UW-Eau Claire (d. Northland, 5-1; d. UW-River Falls, 2-0) Norwich (lost vs. Castleton, 2-1) Hobart (lost at #15 New England College, 4-3; lost at So. Maine, 3-2 OT) Trinity (idle) Geneseo (d. Brockport, 4-2) Adrian (lost vs. St. Scholastica, 3-2; d. St. Scholastica 5-1) Salve Regina (tied at Curry, 4-4) (tie) Utica (lost at Stevenson, 5-4; d. Chatham, 9-3) (tie) Augsburg (d. St. Olaf, 3-1 and 5-1) U. of New England (d. Curry, 4-3; d. Western New England, 6-1) Ice Hockey (W) - USCHO Plattsburgh (d. Cortland, 5-2) Middlebury (d. Utica, 4-0) Norwich (d. Suffolk, 4-0; d. Southern Maine, 5-0) Gustavus Adolphus (tied Saint Mary's, 2-2, d. Saint Mary's, 5-1) UW-Eau Claire (idle) Adrian (d. Aurora, 8-1 and 2-1) UW-River Falls (idle) Elmira (d. Amherst, 3-0; d. Williams, 2-1) Hamline (d. Bethel, 2-1 and 2-1) St. Thomas (d. Concordia, 3-1 and 4-1) Basketball (W) - D3hoops.com Amherst (d. E. Connecticut, 64-39) Tufts (d. WPI, 56-44) Scranton (d. Goucher, 69-35) Bowdoin (d. Colby, 70-51) Hope (d. Calvin, 64-38) St. Thomas MN (lost vs. Gustavus Adolphus, 62-57) Mary Hardin-Baylor (d. #12 Whitman, 78-58) Wartburg (d. Buena Vista, 82-42) DeSales (d. Gwynedd Mercy, 104-66) DePauw (d. Oberlin, 59-49) Basketball (M) - D3hoops.com Swarthmore (d. Gettysburg, 95-63) Emory (d. Piedmont, 96-71) Wittenberg (d. Allegheny, 78-60) Middlebury (d. New England College, 88-87; d. Stevens, 76-66) St. Thomas MN (d. Gustavus Adolphus, 90-66) Nebraska Wesleyan (d. Dubuque, 88-63) Nichols (lost at Lasell, 96-89) Marietta (d. John Carroll, 104-98) Randolph-Macon (d. #18 Christopher Newport, 79-62) Washington U. (idle) Swimming (M) - CSCAA Kenyon (diving at Denison Invitational) Denison (1st of 4 at Denison Invitational) Johns Hopkins (7th of 7 at Princeton "Big Al" Open) Emory (2nd of 4 at Denison Invitational; 4th of 12 at SCAD Invitational) Washington U. (4th of 4 at Denison Invitational; 3rd of 7 at Wheaton Invitational) MIT (MIT Invitational) NYU (1st of 10 at Ithaca Bomber Invitational) Chicago (idle) Carnegie Mellon (idle) Pomona-Pitzer (lost vs. #19 Claremont-M-S, 193-160) Swimming (W) - CSCAA Johns Hopkins (6th of 6 at Princeton "Big Al" Open) Denison (2nd of 5 at Denison Invitational) Emory (3rd of 5 at Denison Invitational; 3rd of 10 at SCAD Invitational) Kenyon (diving at Denison Invitational) Williams (idle) Washington U. (5th of 5 at Denison Invitational; 2nd of 7 at Wheaton Invitational) NYU (1st of 10 at Ithaca Bomber Invitational) Chicago (idle) Tufts (MIT Invitational) Carnegie Mellon (idle) Wrestling - NWCA Wabash (at Indiana Little State Tournament) Loras (d. #6 UW-Whitewater, 33-18; d. #6 UW-La Crosse, 37-9) Wartburg (at Buena Vista Open) Mount Union (1st of 19 at Messiah Petrofes Invitational) Augsburg (1st of 10 at North Central IL Invitational) (t) UW-Whitewater (lost vs. #2 Loras, 33-18; lost vs. #10 Coe, 35-18) (t) UW-La Crosse (lost vs. #10 Coe, 25-15; lost vs. #2 Loras, 37-9) Stevens (3rd of 15 at York Invitational) (t) Baldwin Wallace (idle) (t) Coe (d. #6 UW-La Crosse, 25-15; d. #6 UW-Whitewater, 35-18)

6.  Comings and Goings G. Anthony Grant named athletic director at MIT. Angela Hunley named head softball coach at Penn College. Stephanie Blakely named head women's lacrosse coach at Becker. Cheryl Silva announced her retirement as head field hockey coach at MIT. The Sage Colleges add men's and women's indoor track and field beginning in 2020-21. David Taranto will serve as head coach.

7. Play of the Day This Mati Cano goal is one you'll talk about all day. 😱 Mati Cano! #d3soc pic.twitter.com/3KsmxULP9r — NCAA Division III (@NCAADIII) December 7, 2019

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