Sixth-Ranked Field Hockey Begins Quest For 2005 Northeast-10 Title Saturday Afternoon By Taking On Seventh-Ranked Bentley In Conference Semi-Final Round Play At UMass Lowell, Match To Be Webcast Over Northeast-10 Network

October 28, 2005

2005 Stonehill College Field Hockey

2005 Northeast-10 Conference Semi-Finals

Game #19: #6 Stonehill (16-2) vs. #7 Bentley (16-4)

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Cushing Field, Lowell, Massachusetts

3:00 p.m. EDT

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR: Stonehills quest for its first-ever Northeast-10 Conference championship begins this afternoon as the second-seeded and sixth-ranked Skyhawks renew acquaintances with the third-seeded and seventh-ranked Bentley Falcons in semi-final round play of the 2005 Northeast-10 Championships. Stonehill enters todays action riding a school-record 12-match winning streak and also enters with its highest seeding ever in conference tournament play, as the Skyhawks finished second in the final regular season league standings, also the highest mark in school history. Stonehill wrapped up regular season play last Saturday morning with a 6-1 Northeast-10 triumph over Assumption at Multi-Purpose Stadium in Worcester, Mass., as six different individuals netted goals in the win for the Skyhawks, who set a school single-season record with their 16th triumph of the fall. Bentley enters todays action after advancing to the semi-final round with a 1-0 victory over sixth-seeded Merrimack in Northeast-10 quarterfinal round action on Wednesday evening at Bentley Field in Waltham, Mass.

THE REGULAR SEASON SERIES WITH BENTLEY: Stonehill swept both match-ups with Bentley during the 2005 regular season for the first time in school history, as the Skyhawks posted a 2-0 triumph over the Falcons back on September 8th at W.B. Mason Stadium before notching a 2-1 victory on October 6th in Waltham. Senior co-captain Julie Michalos (Norwood, Mass./Norwood) netted a goal and an assist in the September win for Stonehill, while sophomores Aly Boulis (Lincoln, R.I./Lincoln) and Colleen McLaughlin (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) scored the two goals in the October Skyhawk triumph.

THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH BENTLEY: Todays match marks the 17th meeting between Stonehill and Bentley, and the Falcons hold a 13-3 edge over the Skyhawks in the all-time series between the two schools. Stonehills other win in the series came with a 1-0 overtime triumph during the 2003 campaign. Todays match is the fifth post-season meeting between Stonehill and Bentley, and the Falcons have won all four previous post-season match-ups, including victories in the 1998 and 2004 Northeast-10 semi-finals and triumphs in the 1999 and 2000 conference quarterfinal round.

STONEHILL IN POST-SEASON PLAY: Todays match will be Stonehills 12th in post-season play since the programs inception in 1996, and the Skyhawks have notched a 2-9 mark in their previous 11 post-season contests. Stonehills first-ever post-season came with a 2-1 overtime triumph over Franklin Pierce in the 2001 Northeast-10 quarterfinals, and the Skyhawks collected a 1-0 win over LIU-C.W. Post in the 2002 ECAC semi-finals before falling to East Stroudsburg in overtime in the championship match.

THE SKYHAWKS: Sophomore Caitlin Gleason (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown) and junior All-America Kelly Latendresse (Sidney, Maine/Messalonskee) lead Stonehill in scoring with 28 points each, as Gleason has netted 11 goals and six assists while Latendresse has added nine goals and 10 assists. Boulis follows with nine goals and five assists for 23 points, while Michalos has notched seven goals and five assists for 19 points. Sophomore Dani Ryder (Gloucester, Mass./Tantasqua) has recorded a school-record 16 wins in goal for Stonehill with a league-leading 0.87 goals against average, as she has made 56 saves for a .789 saves percentage to go with eight shutouts.

THE FALCONS: Junior Mary Rogers leads Bentley in scoring with 23 goals and 10 assists for 56 points, while fellow junior Lindsey Harrington follows with 12 goals and nine assists for 33 points. Junior Kristen Allen has netted nine goals and six assists for 24 points, while sophomore Cristina Sergi has four goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Senior Kristin Johnson has posted a 15-4 mark in goal for the Falcons with a 1.25 goals against average, having made 78 saves for a .765 saves percentage to go with seven shutouts.

HEAD COACH PAM ARPE: Pam Arpe is in her sixth season as Head Field Hockey Coach at Stonehill College. A 1972 graduate of Principia (Ill.), Arpe ranks as the winningest coach in school history and has guided the the Skyhawks to an overall mark of 77-42 (.647) during her tenure, picking up her 75th career victory on October 18th in a 7-3 triumph over Bryant. Arpe, who is assisted by her daughter Amanda (William Smith 03), is 3-8 during her career against Bentley.

HEAD COACH KELLY McGOWAN: Kelly McGowan is in her 11th season as Head Field Hockey Coach at Bentley College. A 1994 Northeastern graduate, McGowan has compiled an overall mark of 190-49-1 (.794) during her tenure and guided the Falcons to the 2001 NCAA Division II national crown. McGowan, who sports a career mark of 193-54-1 (.774) that includes one season at Regis, is assisted by Ben Saraydarian and Brooke Dusoe. McGowan is 13-3 during her career against Stonehill.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Stonehill led the Northeast-10 with the fewest amount of goals allowed during the regular season. The Skyhawks enter the post-season with more victories (16) than goals allowed (15). Stonehill also netted the most goals in the conference this year with a school-record 63 tallies in 18 matches.

SKYHAWK TALK: Stonehills October 6th win at Bentley snapped the Falcons 17-match regular season winning streak that dated back to September 2004The Skyhawks were a perfect 8-0 on their home surface at newly built W.B. Mason StadiumThree Stonehill players have been honored as Northeast-10 Player of the Week in three of the last four weeks: Kelly Latendresse, Caitlin Gleason and Colleen McLaughlinDani Ryder has been named as the Northeast-10 Goalkeeper of the Week on four occasions during the season. She has recorded 29 career victories, 17 via shutoutThe Skyhawks have been ranked in the STX/NFHCA Division II national poll in 39 of the last 45 weeks dating back to 2001Michalos and Latendresse each earned spots on the 2005 Northeast-10 Field Hockey Academic All-Conference squad, as Michalos was honored for a second straight season with the selectionFreshman Kerri Sullivan (Goffstown, N.H.) becomes the third Skyhawk to earn Northeast-10 Freshman of the Year accolades, joining Erica Marois (2001) and Cindy Pultz (2000).

WHOS NEXT: The winner of todays Stonehill-Bentley semi-final round match advances to the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference championship match on Sunday, October 30th here at Cushing Field beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. Saturdays other semi-final round contest will pit top-seeded and third-ranked UMass Lowell against fourth-seeded and eighth-ranked Southern Connecticut.