The Schoolcraft Women’s Soccer Team is going to NJCAA Division II Women’s Soccer National tournament as they punched their ticket for the third straight year. This is the Ocelots sixth appearance in the National Tournament since 2015.
The team received an at-large bid for the second year in a row and found themselves in a very similar situation to the 2023 season. The team lost in the regional tournament and awaited their fate from the NJCAA selection committee to see if they would receive one of the four at-large bids to the National Tournament. On Nov. 12, the Ocelots found out their fate, which will be taking them to Huntsville, AL from Nov. 17-23.
The Ocelots will compete in Pool D with the #4 Phoenix College Bears and #5 Holmes CC Bulldogs.
The players and coaching staff couldn’t be more excited when the news was announced during the NJCAA DII Women’s Soccer Selection Show.
Head Coach Ken Shingledecker wasn’t too surprised to receive the at-large bid because of how well the team performed this season.
“We have to get going for the rest of this week and make sure our energy is right,” says Shingledecker. Shingledecker and the team competed against top 5 teams in last year’s tournament, and this year, with the Phoenix College Bears and Holmes CC Bulldogs, the Schoolcraft Ocelots are prepared to face another hardship.
Director of Athletics Patrick Yelsik was pleased about the at-large bid, as the team had a gruesome schedule with their non-conference season, finishing 10-2-2.
The NJCAA rewards teams who had a difficult non-conference season, heavily favoring Schoolcraft. Yelsik was very optimistic that Schoolcraft would be picked. “I liked our positioning a little bit more this year than last year,” said Yelsik.“I don’t think that anybody we’re going to face in Pool D is going to be different than anything we already faced earlier in the season.”
While the team had their moment to celebrate joyously, their focus now shifts to the tournament, as the selection is just the beginning.
Sophomore forwardAshley Hughes was hoping for the at-large bid as the team performed well this season, but with the first round loss at Regionals, there was doubt.
Hughes felt hopeless after the first Pool A-C teams were announced, but being called in Pool D, was a relief.
In preparing for the two top five teams, Hughes said,“I think our practices will be really good and in Alabama, the coaches are going to put it in our mindset that we need to really go out there and work hard to win those games.”
Sophomore forward Grace Ferraro was very lenient on both sides for the bid, but held faith that their superb season would be rewarded. With the bid decided, Ferraro is excited to be competing against high seeded teams, old and new. With the two top five ranked teams in their pool, she is blissfully excited for practice this week leading up to the team’s departure.
“We are getting right at it, staying consistent, and keeping up the energy as a team,” said Ferraro. Ferraro will make sure that the team and herself has that winning mentality heading into Nationals.
Freshman Jessica Clyde had high hopes coming into this at-large bid. With their first round loss in regionals, but their impressive record this season, Clyde was confident that they were going to make it.
Going up against the 4 and 5 seeded teams, Schoolcraft has to work on the little parts of their game to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead.
“I think that there are alot of things we have to work on as a team…like possession, getting into the zone and preparing a game plan,” said Clyde.
The Ocelots National Championship journey begins Nov. 18 in Huntsville, AL as they take on Holmes Community College at 6:45 p.m. CT.
Tune in to the entire tournament on the NJCAA Network. Watch: https://www.njcaa.org/network/landing/index SUBSCRIBE: https://shorturl.at/sgzSd
Connect with the NJCAA Network Online: Visit the NJCAA Website: http://njcaa.org.
