THE BASICS
#1 Lesley University, 3 vs. #3 Maine Maritime Academy, 1

Records:
MMA Mariners (12-7-1, 6-2-1 NAC
Lesley University Lynx (11-3-6, 7-0-2 NAC)

Location: Lexington, Mass. - Minuteman HS Field

Date: Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025

THE LEAD - Lesley University erased an early deficit to come from behind and defeat Maine Maritime Academy by a 3-1 final to capture the 2025 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Women's Soccer Championship on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• While the match kicked off at noon, an important part of the day took place during the Captain's Coin Toss as the Mariners won the flip and elected to take an advantageous first-half wind at their backs for the opening stanza.
• The first goal of the day came in just the sixth minute of play as Abby Wong chipped a ball from the midfield to the feet of Hadley Stoddard. With the help of a sturdy wind gust, it just got through the Lynx back line to leave Stoddard alone for a semi-breakaway on the right side. The striker calmly deposited her conference-leading 21st goal of the season to give MMA an early 1-0 lead.
• The Lynx struggled to get anything going into the wind for much of the frame until sophomore forward Leecy Cruz (San Antonio, Texas) fired a shot from 25 yards out into the upper left corner of the net. The shot floated a bit into the wind working in favor of Lesley this time to help the hosts even the score at 1-1 with less than 10 minutes to play in the first half.
• After flipping sides at the break, the top-seeds controlled most of the second half thanks to calmer play and the wind. The Lynx owned a 10-2 second half edge in shots with the biggest of the day coming at the 51:30 marker by senior defender Rachel Weinzimer (Woodland Hills, Calif.). For the second time this season, Weinzimer headed home a corner against Maine Maritime for the eventual game-winning goal. Junior midfielder Bethany Slivka (Berkley, Mass.) played a deep cross off the corner and Weinzimer did the rest, running on to the ball and connecting on a head to pull Lesley ahead, 2-1.
• The hosts added to the lead with some insurance in the 60th minute on another corner. Slivka played a deep ball again to Weinzimer who went to the ground to keep the cross in play, volleying it back towards the penalty marker where sophomore Elsie Kooehler (Portland, Ore.) cleaned up the play with her sixth goal of the year to move the needle to 3-1.
• Over the final 30 minutes, the Mariners could not get anything going into the wind, mustering up just one shot over that span, coming with about 12 minutes remaining only to be cleared off the goal line by the Lynx who would hold on for the 3-1 Championship "W".

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Lesley owned an 18-7 advantage in shots while MMA edged LU in corners by a 4-3 margin.
• Lesley senior keeper Madison Reed (Burlingame, Calif.) earned the win in goal with a pair of stops while her counterpart, Isa Thesing made seven saves including a pair of breakaway stops.
• The Championship is Lesley's 11th in program history and the first in the North Atlantic Conference. The other 10 were captured in the now defunct NECC.
• Weinzimer now has two career game-winning goals. Both came this year in games vs. MMA, off corner kicks and scored with her head.
• Over the last month, Lesley has posted a 7-0-0 record and outscored its opponents by a 27-2 margin.

UP NEXT

• With the victory, Lesley earns the NAC automatic qualifier to the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer tournament. The Lynx will learn its first-round opponent on Monday, November 10 at 11:00 AM via the NCAA selection show on ncaa.com