Oct. 23, 2007

Setting the Scene... The Pioneer field hockey team closes out the regular season with two home games and playoff position still up in the air. SHU will host Robert Morris Friday at 4:00 pm in their final NEC game of the year. Sunday the Pioneers close out the regular season against New Hampshire with Senior Day festivities beginning at 2:30 pm.

SHU Splits NEC Contests... The Pioneers spilt a pair of big NEC games over the weekend, beating Siena at home before losing to Rider Sunday. Friday's win was the third straight 1-0 win for SHU. Juniors Kristen McIntire and Whitney Mills had their string of four straight shutouts snapped in Sunday's loss, which also snapped a four game team winning streak for SHU. Juniors Melissa Mazin and Carisa Eye scored the Pioneer goals.

Last Meeting vs Robert Morris... Carisa Eye scored four goals and senior Colleen Carney added a goal and two assists as Sacred Heart rolled past Robert Morris, 6-1, in last year at Walton Stadium.

Scouting the Colonials... Robert Morris starts the final weekend with a 3-13 record, having lost three straight games. The Colonials have been outscored 34-9 on the season. Shawna Kushner and Gwen Dalphon each have three goals for the Colonials. Kate Dunlap has posted a 2.19 goals against average. The Colonials have never beaten Sacred Heart in the three seasons their program has been in existence.

Last Meeting vs New Hampshire... Colleen Carney scored the game winner at 1:53 of overtime and sophomore Carisa Eye recorded her third hat trick of the season to lift Sacred Heart a 6-5 non-conference victory against UNH last year at Memorial Field.

Scouting the Wildcats... New Hampshire comes into the final weekend with a 9-9 record following a loss to Boston College on Sunday. Shauna Sellenger leads the attack with six goals and seven assists on the year. Margaux Shute has been strong in goal for UNH, posting a 1.78 goals against average for the season.

Playoff Push... As the final weekend of the season arrives, there are still two spots left in the NEC playoffs. Lock Haven has already clinched the number one seed and Rider currently is in the number two spot. Saint Francis (PA) is a game ahead for number three and the Pioneers start the weekend tied with Monmouth for the final playoff berth. Quinnipiac is one game behind and plays Monmouth on Friday. SHU holds tiebreakers over Quinnipiac and Saint Francis based on their head-to-head win but would lose a tie breaker to Monmouth. In the event of a three way tie the seedings could come down to goals allowed in league play.

Seeing Eye...The Pioneers welcome back the reigning Northeast Conference Player of the Year, junior Carisa Eye. Eye led the league and was second in the country in scoring in 2006, tallying 32 goals and 66 points on the season. She was named Third-Team All-American by the NFHCA in addition to earning first-team All-Region honors. This year she again leads the league in scoring with 12 goals and is second in total points with 25. She was held scorless against Quinnpiac, ending a streak of five straight game with a goal.

Up Next... The Northeast Conference tournament, featuring the top four teams in the league standings, will take place November 2-3 at Lock Haven. The semifinals are set for Friday with the champion being crowned on Saturday. The champion will play in the NCAA play-in game on Tuesday November 6.