# 2023 Northeast Conference women's soccer tournament

The 2023 Northeast Conference women's soccer tournament was the postseason women's soccer tournament for the Northeast Conference held from October 29 to November 5, 2023. The five-match tournament took place at campus sites, with the higher seed hosting matches. The host for the matches was determined by seeding from regular season play. The six-team single-elimination tournament consisted of three rounds based on seeding from regular season conference play. The defending champions were the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights. Fairleigh Dickinson was unable to defend their title, losing to Wagner in the First Round. Central Connecticut went on to win the tournament over Wagner in penalties in the Final. This was the thirteenth Northeast Conference tournament title for the Central Connecticut women's soccer program, eleven of which have come under the direction of head coach Mick D'Arcy. This marks the fifth NEC title in six years for Central Connecticut. As tournament champions, Central Connecticut earned the Northeast Conference's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament.

## Seeding

The top six teams from regular season play qualified for the 2023 Tournament. Teams were seeded based on their regular season records. Tiebreakers were used to determine seeds if teams were tied on regular season record. A tiebreaker was required to determine the second and third seeds as Central Connecticut and Fairleigh Dickinson finished the regular season tied with 24 points each. Central Connecticut won the regular season meeting between the two teams 2–1 on September 24 and was therefore the second seed. Fairleigh Dickinson would have to play in the First Round as the third seed.
| Seed | School | Conference Record | Points |
| 1 | Merrimack | 8–1–1 | 25 |
| 2 | Central Connecticut | 7–0–3 | 24 |
| 3 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 8–2–0 | 24 |
| 4 | Howard | 6–3–1 | 22 |
| 5 | Sacred Heart | 5–4–1 | 16 |
| 6 | Wagner | 5–5–0 | 15 |

## Bracket

| First Round Sunday, Oct. 29 | First Round Sunday, Oct. 29 | First Round Sunday, Oct. 29 | Semifinals Thursday, Nov. 2 | Semifinals Thursday, Nov. 2 | Semifinals Thursday, Nov. 2 | Final Sunday, Nov. 5 | Final Sunday, Nov. 5 | Final Sunday, Nov. 5 |
| | | | 1 | Merrimack | 1 (1) | | | |
| 4 | Howard | 1 | 6 | Wagner (pen.) | 1 (3) | | | |
| 5 | Sacred Heart | 0 | | | | 2 | Central Connecticut (pen.) | 1 (4) |
| | | | | | | 6 | Wagner | 1 (3) |
| | | | 2 | Central Connecticut (a.e.t.) | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Fairleigh Dickinson | 0 | 4 | Howard | 1 | | | |
| 6 | Wagner | 3 | | | | | | |
Note: Teams were re-seeded after the First Round.

## Statistics
### Goalscorers

There were 11 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 2.2 goals per match (as of November 5, 2023).
2 goals
* Kayla Barbosa – Wagner
1 goal
* Daniela De Souza – Central Connecticut
* Aoife Horgan – Central Connecticut
* Giavanna Inzerillo – Central Connecticut
* Marli Berry – Howard
* Mia Young – Howard
* Isabella Keogh – Merrimack
* Madison Carr – Wagner
* Jess Maraia – Wagner
* Olivia Rubbo – Wagner

## All-Tournament team

Source:
| Player | Team |
| Abbie Burgess | Central Connecticut |
| Melina Ford | Central Connecticut |
| Nicolle Santos | Central Connecticut |
| Victoria Violette | Central Connecticut |
| Melea Earley | Howard |
| Trinity Knox | Howard |
| Caroline Howland | Merrimack |
| Isabella Keogh | Merrimack |
| Kayla Barbosa | Wagner |
| Sam Hughes | Wagner |
| Juliana Rafaniello | Wagner |
MVP in bold