Senior Claire Hourihan scored the lone goal early in the second half to lift the Skyhawks past #8 Merrimack. |
#3 Stonehill Edges #8 Merrimack, 1-0
Skyhawks clinch top-seed in
upcoming NE-10 Tournament,
share of regular season title
EASTON, Mass. (October 21, 2009) - Stonehill College, ranked third in this week's Kookaburra/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll, clinched the top-seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Tournament and at least a share of the Conference's regular season title after edging 8th-ranked Merrimack College, 1-0, in a key NE-10 field hockey matchup on Senior Day at W.B. Mason Stadium.
Stonehill (15-3, 8-1 NE-10), ranked first for the fourth-straight week in the NCAA Division II North Regional rankings, earned the top-seed and right to host the NE-10 final four, October 31 and November 1, by way of its win this afternoon and 5th-ranked UMass Lowell's 3-2 triumph over No. 6-ranked Bentley University in Lowell tonight.
Junior Courtney Osier made two saves to preserve her second-straight shutout. |
The Skyhawks lead both teams by a game in the standings, but hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with both in determining the top seed. Stonehill can clinch the NE-10 regular season championship outright with a win in its final regular season game at Southern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Senior forward Claire Hourihan (East Amherst, N.Y./Williamsville North) broke the deadlock 5:02 into the second half off a penalty corner when she worked a give-and-go with classmate Stephanie Kott (Rutland, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) and fired in her team-leading 19th goal of the season from eight yards out. Hourihan's 19 goals are just one shy of her own single-season program record set last year. The goal is also the 48th of her career, bringing her within five of Caitlin Gleason's program record of 53 set from 2004-07.
Junior goalkeeper Courtney Osier (South Dennis, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth) made two saves (one each half) to preserve her second-straight shutout (fifth of the season). She hasn't conceded a goal in her last 159:18 of play. Freshman Kerri Bergquist (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) finished with 11 stops in goal for Merrimack.
Stonehill finished with a 17-3 advantage in shots for the game, including a 9-1 break in the second half, while posting an 18-4 edge in penalty corners, 13-1 in the final 35-minutes.
Merrimack (11-7, 6-3 NE-10), ranked fourth in this week's NCAA II East Regional rankings, rounds out the regular season at Saint Anselm College on Saturday at noon.
