Liberty League women's soccer teams present opponents a lot of problems. It's a physical brand of play, and teams are generally highly skilled, technical and organized.

When Bard takes on third-seeded Rutgers-Newark in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Div. III Metro/Upstate Semifinals on Saturday, the Raptors will face a problem they haven't seen this season, even in the powerful Liberty League: A truly elite striker.

Rutgers-Newark senior Sara Corson (Metuchen, NJ) was named the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Offensive Player of the Year last week. At the end of the regular season, she led the NJAC with 19 goals and 40 points, good for 18th and 29th in those categories nationally at the time. She enters Saturday's semifinal with 46 points (21g, 4a) and has eight game-winning goals.

Corson bailed out the Scarlet Raiders (14-8-1) with a pair of goals and an assist in Wednesday's 4-3 semifinal win over Ramapo. Rutgers-Newark, which had beaten Ramapo 3-0 in conference play, got up 2-0 in that game, then trailed, 3-2, before Corson tied it up in the 84th minute. Juliana Ceballos (Elizabeth, NJ) knocked in a rebound off a Corson shot in the 87th minute, and the Scarlet Raiders avoided the upset.

Bard (8-8-2) pulled off the surprise of the tournament so far on Wednesday. The seventh-seeded Raptors eliminated No. 2 Kean in a penalty kick shootout. Trailing 1-0 at half, Bard got even on a goal from Gina Lewis in the 67th minute, then prevailed after two scoreless overtimes in PKs, 4-2.

As has been the case since Bill Kelly became coach, Bard is built on defense, so stopping Corson will clearly be a priority. Offensively, Avalon Qian (6g, 0a) and Abbey Labrecque (5g, 2a) have done most of the heavy lifting. Lately, though, freshman defender Dylan McDonald has been getting involved.

Through 15 games, the steady back had zero points. But in the last three games, chronologically, she beat Mount Holyoke with a direct kick in the 83rd minute, 1-0, scored the first goal in Bard's historic 2-1 win over Vassar, and had the assist on the equalizer against Kean the other night.

Bard and Rutgers-Newark have only one common opponent this fall: Kean. Rutgers-Newark lost to Kean, 4-1, back on Oct. 17.

ECAC Div. III Metro/Upstate Championships
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Nov. 11
No. 1 NYU 3, No. 8 Lehman 0
No. 3 Rutgers-Newark 4, No. 6 Ramapo 3
No. 7 Bard 1, No. 2 Kean 1 (Bard advances on PKs, 4-2)
No. 5 Mount Saint Mary 2, No. 4 Stockton 1

Semifinals
Saturday, Nov. 14
Gaelic Park, Riverdale, N.Y.
No. 1 NYU vs. No. 5 Mount Saint Mary, 11 a.m.
No. 3 Rutgers-Newark vs. No. 7 Bard, 1:30 p.m.

Championship
Sunday, Nov. 15
Gaelic Park, Riverdale, N.Y.
Semifinal winners, noon