LOUDONVILLE, NY – Siena Women's Soccer begins its quest for a fourth conference tournament championship when the fourth-seeded Saints host No. 5 seed Manhattan in Metro Championship First Round action Sunday at noon on Hickey Field.
 
Tickets are priced at $12 for general admission adult and $5 for general admission youth/senior/student and can be secured in advance online (fees apply) or at the entrance to Hickey Field beginning 60 minutes prior to kickoff. The first 100 Siena students get in free with Siena ID.
 
Joe Lemery, former Saint Jayanna Monds '20, and Ro Yeon Lee have the call of the game on ESPN+. Fans can also follow the action through the live stats link and by following Siena Women's Soccer through their social media channel on X, Facebook, and Instagram.
 
The winner of the First Round matchup will advance to the Metro Championship Semifinals Thursday to face either regular season champion and top-seed Quinnipiac (1 p.m.) or second-seeded Niagara (6 p.m.). The Bobcats will host the lowest advancing seed from the First Round, while the Purple Eagles will play the highest advancing seed. The other First Round contest features sixth-seeded Marist hosting No. 3 seed Fairfield Sunday also at noon.
 
SIENA IN THE METRO CHAMPIONSHIPS (24^TH APPEARANCE)
Titles: 3 (2010, 2015, 2020-21)
Record: 15-17-4 (.472)
Home: 4-1-2
First Round: 6-6
As the No. 4 seed: 4-8-2
Vs. the No. 5 seed: 2-2
Vs. Manhattan: 1-2
 
Siena makes its 24^th overall appearance in what is now known as the Metro Conference Championships, and third straight. The Saints have captured a total of three Metro Tournament Championships which, ironically, have all come in five-year increments (2010, 2015, 2020-21). This technically marks five years (sixth season) since the most recent Siena title, which came during the 2020 season which was played in the Spring of 2021 as part of the COVID-affected campaign.   
 
The Saints hold a 15-17-4 all-time record in Metro Championship matches, although have dropped back-to-back No. 4 vs. No. 5 First Round contests (one as the four-seed, one as the five) the past two seasons to fall back under .500. Beginning with the program's first Metro Championship season of 2010, Siena achieved a stellar 13-6-2 (.667) record through the COVID-affected Spring 2021 Championship season. The Saints 13 Metro Championship victories since 2010 remain one more than the next closest program (Quinnipiac – 12), and trail only former league powerhouse Monmouth (14) for the most during that time. Prior to 2010, Siena was just 2-10-2 spanning the program's first 14 Metro Championship matches over their first 18 seasons as a league member.
 
The Saints have advanced in five of their first seven Metro Championship home matches, posting a 4-1-2 overall record. The lone straight up loss came in the most recent postseason home contest – also in a 4-5 First Round matchup – against Manhattan two seasons ago, as Siena seeks a measure of revenge this time around. Including today, six of the Saints past eight Metro Championship matches will have been contested on Hickey Field
 
Siena is an even 6-6 in Metro First Round matches, and looking to bounce back from heartbreaking one-goal defeats each of the past two seasons, also in 4-5 matchups. The Jaspers scored with just 76 seconds left in regulation in a 1-0 final in 2024 on Hickey Field, while Sacred Heart netted the winner in the 86^th minute of a 2-1 decision last fall in Connecticut on their way to capturing the title. Prior to 2024, the Saints had won their previous five First Round contests while outscoring the opposition by a 9-1 margin. Siena had also advanced at least as far as the Metro Semifinals in six straight postseason appearances starting in 2015, until that streak was snapped in 2024.
 
The Saints are just 4-8-2 all-time as the Metro Championship No. 4 seed, their most common seeding. Siena, however is an even 3-3-1 in their last seven occurrences as the No. 4 seed, and have twice advanced as far as the Championship Final when seeded fourth (1996, 2006). The Saints are an even 2-2 all-time vs. No. 5 seeds.
 
Siena and Manhattan meet for the fourth time in postseason play, with the Jaspers having won two of the first three meetings outright – both coming 1-0 as a five-seed against the fourth-seeded Saints in 2001 and again in 2024. However, Siena boasts the biggest win in the programs shared postseason history, when the Saints became the first-ever No. 6 seed to capture the conference title, routing second-seeded Manhattan 5-2 in 2015 in New Jersey to claim the second of now three conference crowns.
 
SCOUTING SIENA (12-4-2 OVERALL, 8-3-1 METRO)
Siena enters postseason play on the heels of one of the most successful regular seasons in program history. Unbeaten in seven of their last eight (6-1-1) since the start of October, the Saints are riding the program's first 12-win campaign since the 2015 Metro Championship, while their .722 overall and .708 conference winning percentages are program bests for a regular fall season since the 2010 (17-4, .810) and 2008 (6-2-1, .722) seasons, respectively. Siena produced a separate seven-match unbeaten streak (6-0-1) and five-match win streak earlier this season.
 
The Saints have long since secure their second double-digit win season in three years and 13^th overall, while losing just four regular season matches for the second straight season, the program's fewest in a full season since only dropping a program-low three during the first Metro Championship season of 2010. Siena entered the season predicted to finish tied for fourth according to the Metro Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was where they ended up.
 
The Saints have also set the following team and individual career and single-season records so far this fall during a historic 2026 season:
 

• Team: program single-season record eight conference wins
• Team: program single-season record 11 shutouts
• Team: program record seven consecutive shutouts (Aug. 16 – Sept. 12)
• Team: program record 699:18 shutout streak (Aug. 12 – Sept. 19)
• Cate Burns: program career record 26 shutouts
• Burns: program single-season record 11 shutouts
• Burns: program individual record seven consecutive shutouts (Aug. 16 – Sept. 12)
• Burns: program individual record 698:21 shutout streak (Aug. 16 – Sept. 19)

 
Offensively, Siena has scored 31 goals so far this season, which is the program's highest total since the 2015 Metro Championship campaign (34).
 
Junior midfielder Catherine Rogers has paced the offensive attack for a third straight season, ranking second in the Metro in shots on goal (38), tied for second in match-winning goals (five), third in goals (11), and tied for third in both points (26) and total shots (61). The first Siena player to score double digit goals in 13 years since Brittany Pfaff tallied 14 in 2013, Rogers five-match winners are just one off a program single-season record. Named a First Team All-Conference selection in each of her first two seasons – and a shoe-in to repeat again when conference awards are announced Monday – she currently ranks tied for fourth all-time in program history in assists (18), tied for fifth in match-winning goals (seven), and sixth in both points (68) and goals (25).
 
Classmate and fellow midfielder Anna Swyers has joined Rogers in forming a formidable 1-2 offensive punch during a breakout junior season. After totaling just two points through her first two seasons spanning 27 matches, the Canadian right winger has exploded for 18 points – seventh most in the Metro – while ranking tied for 10^th in both goals (seven) and assists (four) this fall. Swyers crowning achievement was recording the Saints first hat trick in 11 years at defending champion Sacred Heart on Oct. 3, which kickstarted the second half Siena run. She scored twice in the final 5:29 to rally the Saints to a dramatic victory which, in retrospect, likely punched Siena's eventual ticket to the Metro Championship while the Pioneers finished stranded just outside the top-six.
 
A three-year brick wall in goal, Burns has established a record-setting year, setting previously aforementioned Siena benchmarks for career shutouts (26), individual shutouts (11), consecutive shutouts (seven), and consecutive shutout minutes (698:21) this fall. The junior goalkeeper, who also currently holds the program career goals against average (0.74) by a 22-point margin, is currently one of five players with a national-leading 11 shutouts, and ranks 16^th in save percentage (.865) to go along with a 0.72 goals against average which is second-best in the Metro.
 
Burns has quarterbacked an equally historic backline comprised of defenders Grace Crowley, Lindsey Harrington, and Hayden Valentine from left-to-right, along with holding midfielders Abby Daly and Lily Farrell. The Saints defense has established the previously aforementioned program records of 11 single-season shutouts, seven consecutive shutouts, and a 699:18 shutout streak earlier this season. The 11 shutouts are just one off the national lead – held by six programs – while the 15 total goals allowed currently match both last season and the 2008 team for the fewest in program history.
 
Siena is led by the Dean of Metro Coaches, Steve Karbowski, who has amassed 240 career victories spanning his 28 seasons at the helm of his alma mater. The winningest coach in conference history with 150 career conference victories (regular season and tournament), he has piloted the Saints to each of the program's three Metro Championships while recording 12 double-digit win seasons and securing 19 postseason appearances.
 
SCOUTING MANHATTAN (10-3-3 OVERALL, 7-2-3 METRO)
Manhattan went unbeaten in 10 of its final 11 matches (7-1-3) to claim a postseason berth. The Jaspers were a perfect 3-0 against the top-three finishers – Quinnipiac, Niagara, and Fairfield – while outscoring the trio by a 6-1 margin. Manhattan has achieved its second double-digit win season in three years, while posting its best-ever record (.719 overall winning percentage) in head coach Brendan Lawler's 17 seasons at the helm.
 
Manhattan makes the program's second Metro Championship appearance in three years still in search of its first-ever title. The Jaspers have twice advanced to the conference championship final, losing to the Saints in 2015 and former conference member Monmouth in 2017. Manhattan is 6-4-2 in its last 12 postseason matches.
 
Like Siena, the Jaspers have been fueled by an outstanding defense all year long. Manhattan leads the Metro and ranks 15^th nationally in goals against average (0.56), thanks in large part to goalkeeper Margaret Brunk. She ranks 17^th nationally in goals against average and 32^nd in save percentage (.839).
 
THE SERIES WITH MANHATTAN (39^TH MEETING: SIENA LEADS, 22-9-7)
Siena has dominated the all-time series overall against Manhattan, although the Jaspers have captured two of the three postseason matchups. The series has tightened recently with the programs splitting the past six matchups 2-2-2. The Saints however are unbeaten in 14 of the past 15 matchups in Loudonville (11-1-2), with the lone Manhattan win coming in the 2024 Metro First Round for their first win in the Capital Region since two days prior to Sept. 11, 2001.  
 
Siena captured the regular season meeting 1-0 also in Loudonville in the Metro Conference opener on Sept. 5. Swyers provided the offensive spark with a 16^th minute goal off a feed from Briana Neary, while Burns made four saves. Brunk stopped three shots for the Jaspers.