Nov. 5, 2008

Setting the Scene... The Sacred Heart field hockey team is set for another run at the NEC championship. The Pioneers are the third seed in this weekend's tournament and will face number two Rider Friday in the semifinals at host and top seed Lock Haven. The Lady Eagles will meet Quinnipiac in the second semifinal. The championship game is set for Saturday at 1:00 pm.

Regular Season... Sacred Heart went 7-11 in the regular season, including finish 5-2 in Northeast Conference play. The Pioneers won three of their last four games to finish the year.

Last Time Out... The Pioneers won their regular season finale, defeating Quinnipiac, 2-1, in overtime on Senior Day Thursday at Campus Field. Sophomore Stephanie Fazio scored the game winning goal and senior Whitney Mills made nine saves.

SHU in the NEC Tournament... This is the eighth straight year the Pioneers have qualified for the NEC Tournament. The Pioneers reached the championship game in 2005 and 2006, and won the title in 2005, defeating Rider in the final game. SHU lost in the semifinals last year, falling to Rider.

Eye Flies High... Senior Carisa Eye has been the Pioneer offensive leader this year as she has been for her entire career. Eye leads the Northeast Conference in scoring this year with 41 points and 19 goals. She is ranked 10th in the country in scoring average and is sixth in goals per game.

Goaltending Experience... Goaltender Whitney Mills has been busy in the cage all year for Sacred Heart. The senior finished the regular season with a 3.04 goals against average and two shutouts and an average of eight saves per game.

Last Meeting vs Rider... Senior Diana Celebre had two goals and an assist with sophomore Allison Vogel adding a goal and an assist as the Rider University field hockey team defeated Sacred Heart 3-1 in a Northeast Conference game earlier this year.

Scouting the Broncs... Rider won nine of its last 10 games to close the regular season. The Broncs are led by Diana Celebre who has 11 goals on the year and backed up by nine goals by Tricia Crotty. Lyndsie Johnson leads the NEC in goals against average with a 1.08 mark for the regular season.

Last Meeting vs Lock Haven... Suzann Hobart notched 4 goals and an assist for the Lady Eagles as Lock Haven defeated SHU this afternoon 5-1. The Pioneer defense faced heavy pressure all game but finally broke down midway through the second half, surrendering 3 goals in the final 18 minutes. Whitney Mills made 8 saves for the Pioneers and Carisa Eye scored Sacred Heart's only goal.

Scouting the Eagles... The two-time defending NEC regular season and tournament champions Lock Haven have not lost a game against an NEC school since 2006. The Lady Eagles are led by three double digit goal scorers in Amy Hodendorf(19), Blair Wynne (17) and Suzann Hobart (10). Meanwhile, goaltender Erin Terrson is allowing just 1.27 goals against.

Last Meeting vs Quinnipiac... Sophomore Stephanie Fazio scored the game-winning goal seven minutes into overtime and senior Whitney Mills made nine saves in goal as Sacred Heart clinched the number three seed in the NEC Field Hockey Tournament with a 2-1 overtime win over Quinnipiac on Senior Day

Scouting the Bobcats... Qunnipiac grabbed the last playoff spot with some help in the season's final weekend. MacKenzie Liptak leads the Bobcat attack with eight goals while Jenna Grossman has a 2.28 goals against average in the cage.

Up Next... The winner of the NEC Championship advances to the NCAA Tournament Play-In game against the Patriot League champion. That game will be held Tuesday November 11th at the home of the Patriot League Champion.