As the calendar turns to the new year and the second half of NCAA DII 2023-24, let’s take a look back at the wild fall season that just ended. In sports dominated by namesakes and powerhouse programs, it won five championships and won other firsts.
Harding runs his way into DII football history
The Harding Bisons finished the 2023 DII football season a perfect 15-0, en route to the first state championship in program history. It was behind the best rushing attack in college football history in a 38-7 victory.
Blake Delacruz’s 60-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter put the Bison over the 6,000-yard mark for the season. In doing so, Harding became the first team in college football history to reach 6,000 yards rushing in a season. The Bison averaged 410.7 yards per game on the ground, 30.2 more yards per game than the next closest school (Division III Springfield) and more than 100 yards more than the top teams in the FBS (Liberty) or FCS (Davidson). Delacruz himself ran for 212 yards and, you guessed it, became the first player in DII football history to surpass 200 yards in a title game, breaking the record of 195 yards set by running back Billy Holmes in the 1997 championship game. Braden Jay rushed for 161 yards and three scores as the Bison offense fell just 23 yards short of the championship game.
HISTORY: The new No. 1 in the 2023 DII football Power 10 rankings.
California is DII’s 50th anniversary gold medal
Women’s sports had a great run in California last fall. As DII celebrates its golden anniversary, the Golden State celebrates its first ever pair of championships, with Point Loma in DII women’s soccer and Cal State LA in DII women’s volleyball.
Grace Nelson’s corner kick was met by Emma Trapp to score, making it a thrilling win for the Sea Lions.
🚨 SEA LIONS LEAD 🚨
Emma Trapp’s header put Point Loma in front #D2WSOC Championship. pic.twitter.com/SnLA40cHEj
— PLNU Sea Lions (@PLNUSeaLions) December 9, 2023
It was an impressive run for Point Loma, who had five straight shutouts in the contest, outscoring their opponents nine to zero. It wasn’t just the Sea Lions’ first DII women’s soccer state championship, it was the school’s first NCAA DII state championship in any sport. Despite traditionally strong DII baseball and basketball programs, the 2023 DII women’s soccer team will forever be etched in Sea Lions lore.
About three hours north of Point Loma, Cal State’s LA DII women’s volleyball team was making program history. Cal State LA went 2-6 on two fields loaded with nationally-ranked talent as the Golden Eagles challenged themselves in two of DII women’s volleyball’s elite early-season tournaments, the Yotes Classic Showcase and the Colorado Premier Challenge. However, the Golden Eagles closed furiously, going 22-4 the rest of the way to capture the school’s first title. Those early-season losses were valuable lessons: The Golden Eagles had three big upsets in the finals, knocking off No. 3 Wayne State (Neb.) in the quarterfinals and a half-set sweep of No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis, also the defending national champion, upset the No. 5 West Texas A&M Buffaloes in three days in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. For many, this was unthinkable; At Cal State LA, it was a goal the team knew was a reality with returning players in August.
Bulldogs win WINGate
Talk about a sport dominated by powerful forces. If your name wasn’t Adams State, Colorado School of Mines, Grand Valley State or Western State over the last 25 years, you didn’t have much of a chance to win a DII men’s track title. A year after nearly coming off a historic 2022 national runner-up campaign, Wingate reached the pinnacle and won its first DII cross country championship. Wingate’s 70-79 victory was the first time since 2007 that it won by less than 10 points. The Bulldogs had 5 All-Americans, the most of any school this year.
Kutztown capped off a historic fall with a DII field hockey title
The Golden Bears have been a non-stop party this fall. The Kutztown women’s soccer team made it to the 2nd round of the tournament, making history on their way to the national semifinals for the first time in the soccer team’s history. But the Golden Bears field hockey team made the deal and went far, winning the school’s first DII field hockey championship.
While DII field hockey has always been a PSAC party, Kutztown hasn’t had many teams associated with the sport. That makes the Golden Bears’ win all the more impressive. They had to beat Shippensburg in the semifinals and then East Stroudsburg in the finals to win the trophy. In the last 10 contests, Shippensburg has five wins and one loss, while East Stroudsburg has two wins and one loss. The Golden Bears were held scoreless in the championship game, but won 2-1 in a thrilling game. The team has a record for wins (19) and shutouts (14) and is returning almost everyone in 2024.
For Franklin Pierce, it’s nice to play twice in men’s soccer
Talk about a new rivalry for a new decade. Franklin Pierce played in the DII men’s soccer championship for the second time in as many years against Pueblo, Colorado. And this year, behind a dominant 4-0 performance, Franklin Pierce won its second national title in as many years.
Have there ever been a repeat champion in DII men’s soccer? Of course. Southern Connecticut State and Seattle Pacific both accomplished the feat … but that was forever ago. Franklin Pierce is the first team this millennium to make back-to-back DII men’s soccer tournament appearances for the first time in nearly a quarter century. It was the only NCAA DII fall sport in nine years without a repeat champion.
Also worth mentioning is the approach taken by Franklin Pierce. The Ravens are unbeaten since December 2, 2021. It was the third round of the 2021 DII Men’s Soccer Championship and they lost to Millersville in penalty kicks. Since then, the Ravens have gone 46-0-3, clearly establishing themselves as the best team in their sport, and continue to be ranked No. 1 in the polls every week this season. There has never been a “three-peat” in DII men’s soccer, so 2024 certainly has something to strive for for this Ravens.
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