Junior All-American Erika Kelly has the top two scoring seasons in program history and leads the Skyhawks into the postseason. (PHOTO BY Andrew Katsampes) |
2nd-seeded Skyhawks and third-seeded Panthers play for NE-10 Championship berth Thursday at 4 p.m.
EASTON, Mass. (November 19, 2013) – Second-seeded Stonehill College, ranked fifth in this week's week's Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division II poll and first in this week's NCAA Division II North Regional rankings, and third-seeded and No. 7-ranked Adelphi University, ranked third in the region, will battle for a spot in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship when the meet up in a semifinal round contest at Timothy J. Coughlin Memorial Field at W.B. Mason Stadium on Thursday at 4 p.m.
Admission is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for senior citizens and children and $1.00 for students of participating institutions with a valid ID. The first 500 Stonehill students will be admitted free of charge courtesy of the Stonehill Athletics Department, Student Affairs and Student Activities offices. Live stats for the game can be viewed via computer or mobile device via www.stonehillskyhawks.com.
Stonehill (15-3, 9-2 NE-10), participating in its 17th NE-10 Tournament, seeks its second straight appearance in the NE-10 Championship game and sixth in program history – three of which have come in head coach Shelly Morris' seven years at the helm. The Skyhawks won their lone NE-10 Tournament Championship in 2005, while also appearing in the title game in 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2013. Morris enters the postseason two wins shy of 100 at Stonehill, having posted a 165-108 (.604) career record, including her 98-47 (.676) record here at Stonehill.
Stonehill, which enters the postseason winners of two straight and seven of eight after a pair of road wins to sew up the No. 2 seed and first round bye last week, ranks second in the NE-10 for scoring (3rd nationally) with 3.7 goals per game, while ranking fifth with a 1.76 team goals against average (11th) and second with 10.8 penalty corners per game (6th). The Skyhawks have the fifth-best winning percentage in NCAA Division II and also rank fourth nationally for scoring margin (+1.9 goals per game).
Senior Emily Coholan leads the Skyhawks back line. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Junior All-American Erika Kelly (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown), the all-time leading scorer in program history with 147 points and a school-record 69 career goals, leads Stonehill with 23 goals and five assists for 51 points this fall, ranking third in the NE-10 for goals and points, ranking second nationally for goals and points per game. She has netted a team-high five game winning goals, which ranks fourth in the NE-10.
While Kelly has scored over a third of Stonehill's goals this season, the Skyhawks have two more double-figure goal scorers this season and ten players who have netted goals this season overall. Junior Lauren Giordano (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) has contributed 11 goals (9th NE-10), including four gamewinners, and four assists (5th) for 26 points (10th), while freshman Alexandria Sylvia (Brockton, Massachusetts/Brockton) has chipped in ten goals (11th) and an assist for 21 points (16th) in her first collegiate season. Sophomore Sarah Morse (Westminster, Massachusetts/Oakmont Regional) leads the Skyhawks with ten assists (3rd) to go with two goals for four points, while senior All-American Emily Sideris (Watertown, Massachusetts/Watertown) has posted four goals and two assists for 12 points in 14 games.
Senior Elizabeth Genovese (Street, Maryland/North Harford), who earned NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week honors on Monday, has played all but 65:42 in the Stonehill cage this fall and registered a 1.69 goals against average (4th) and .756 save percentage (7th) with five saves per game (9th) and a Conference-high four shutouts in 1,204:13 (5th) over 18 starts. She has aided by a strong back line of senior Emily Coholan (South Dennis, Massachusetts/Dennis-Yarmouth), a two-time NE-10 Defensive Player of the Week, junior Maggie Travers (Scituate, Massachusetts/Scituate) and Morse.
Senior Elizabeth Genovese has been strong in goal of late for the Skyhawks. (PHOTO BY Jan Volk/SportsPix) |
Adelphi (14-5, 8-3 NE-10), which reached the semifinals with a 6-2 first round win over sixth-seeded Bentley University on Tuesday, is making its third straight NE-10 semifinal appearance and seeks its first trip to the championship game. Junior Molly Cuevas (San Jose, California/Leland) scored four goals and dished an assist to lead the Panthers past Bentley on Tuesday, while classmate Mary Plotas (Brookeville, Maryland/Our Lady of Good Counsel) contributed a goal and two assists.
Adelphi ranks third in the NE-10 in scoring with 3.37 goals per game (4th nationally in Division II), while ranking sixth with a 2.40 team goals against average (13th), averaging 9.0 penalty corners per game (12th). Plotas leads the Panthers with 54 points (2nd) and 24 goals (2nd) to go with six assists, while Cuevas has contributed 11 goals (9th) and a Conference-high 20 assists for 42 points (5th). Sophomore Lena Pollich (Massapequa, New York/Massapequa) has chipped in with seven goals, including three gamewinners, and three assists for 17 points.
Junior Kelly Serrao (Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey/Parsippany) has seen the majority of time in the Adelphi goal this season and registered a 2.43 goals against average (6th) and .692 save percentage with 3.9 saves per game and four shutouts in 1,036:20 over 16 games played.
While tomorrow will mark the first ever postseason matchup between these two programs, Stonehill holds a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 2009. The Skyhawks claimed a 5-4 overtime triumph against Adelphi in the lone regular season meeting between the two in Garden City, New York, on October 25. Kelly netted her second hat trick of the season to lead the Skyhawks, scoring the game winning goal 6:25 into overtime after netting the equalizer with just 1:45 remaining in regulation. Junior Olivia Nowokunski (Leominster, Massachusetts/Leominster) led Adelphi with two goals.
Top-seeded and No. 4-ranked LIU Post (15-2, 10-1 NE-10), the reigning NE-10 Tournament champions, is hosting fourth-seeded American International College (12-7, 7-4 NE-10) in tomorrow's other NE-10 semifinal on Long Island at 1 p.m. The NE-10 Championship is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., at the home of the higher remaining seed.
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2014 Northeast-10 Conference
Field Hockey Championships
First Round
Tuesday, November 18 (at higher seeds)
#4 American International 2, #5 Assumption 1
#3 Adelphi 6, #6 Bentley 2
Semifinals
Thursday, November 20 (at higher seeds)
#4 American International (12-7, 7-4 NE-10 at #1 LIU Post (15-2, 10-1 NE-10), 1 p.m.
#3 Adelphi (14-5, 8-3 NE-10) at #2 Stonehill (15-3, 9-2 NE-10), 4 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, November 22 (at highest remaining seed)
Semifinal Winners, 1 p.m.
