STONEHILL FIELD HOCKEY
2005 NCAA Division II National Semi-Finals
Friday, November 11, 2005
Robb Sports Complex, Shippensburg, Pa.
FINAL:UMASS LOWELL 2, STONEHILL 1
12Total
Stonehill (19-3)01- 1
UMass Lowell (19-3)20- 2
SCORING SUMMARY
UML:Sara Hohenberger (Michelle Harrington)28:07 1st
UML:Courtney Hill (Hohenberger)31:54 1st
STO:Courtney Campbell (Kelly Latendresse)51:12 2nd
GOALIE SAVES
STO:Dani Ryder--1
UML:Nicole Staiti--6
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa.-- Junior Sara Hohenberger (Windham, N.H.) netted a goal and an assist to lead top-seeded UMass Lowell to its second berth in the national championship match in three seasons with a 2-1 victory over second-seeded Stonehill in North Region national semi-final round action of the 2005 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championships Friday afternoon at Shippensburg University's Robb Sports Complex.
The River Hawks (19-3) will face the winner of the South Region national semi-final between top-seeded Shippensburg and second-seeded and three-time defending national champion Bloomsburg on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. at the Robb Sports Complex.
After the Skyhawks (19-3) had recorded the first seven shots of the match (six on goal), Hohenberger gave UMass Lowell a 1-0 lead on its first shot in the 28th minute of play, as she converted a feed from freshman Michelle Harrington (Rockport, Mass.) for her 23rd tally of the season. Senior Courtney Hill (Newburyport, Mass.) extended the River Hawks' lead to 2-0 just 3:47 later when she deflected in a Hohenberger pass off a penalty corner for her 11th goal of the season, as UMass Lowell took a two-goal edge at the break despite being outshot by an 11-5 margin by Stonehill in the first 35 minutes of action.
Junior Courtney Campbell (Reading, Mass.) sliced the Skyhawk deficit to 2-1 in the 51st minute of action when she converted a pass from junior All-America Kelly Latendresse (Sidney, Maine) off a penalty corner for her fifth goal of the season, and Stonehill had a pair of chances to tie the match in the final seven minutes of play but was unable to net the equalizer. Hohenberger had a chance to give UMass Lowell an insurance tally with just under five minutes remaining, but her penalty stroke attempt was stopped by Skyhawk sophomore netminder Dani Ryder (Gloucester, Mass.).
Junior Nicole Staiti (Barre, Mass.) made six first-half saves to pick up her 19th win of the season in goal for UMass Lowell, while Ryder made one second half stop in net for Stonehill, which saw its school-record 15-match winning streak end with the setback.
"The end is disappointing, but it doesn't take away from a fabulous season," Stonehill Head Coach Pam Arpe said following the match. "We're a young team that loses only two seasons, so I'm very excited about our future. I think this is just the beginning."
The match was the third meeting of the season between the two teams, as UMass Lowell was the last squad to defeat Stonehill back on September 14th prior to today's contest. The Skyhawks avenged that setback with a 2-1 overtime triumph in the Northeast-10 Conference championship match on October 30th, setting up today's rubber match in the season series.
SKYHAWK TALK: Field Hockey is the third sport in Stonehill history to play in an NCAA national semi-final, joining women's basketball and women's lacrosseStonehill finished the year with more victories (19) than goals allowed (18)The Skyhawks set school records for wins (19), consecutive wins (15), goals scored (68) and goals allowed (18) this seasonStonehill's 20 underclasmen consist of three juniors, nine sophomores and eight freshmen.