#5 Skyhawks to face #4 Owls in NE-10 first round on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
|
| Sarah Hickey enters the NE-10 Tournament after scoring her first-career hat-trick last Saturday against Assumption College. |
EASTON, Mass. (October 31, 2011) – Fifth-seeded Stonehill College will participate in the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Women's Soccer Championships for the 12th time in program history and second time in three seasons when the Skyhawks square off with fourth-seeded Southern Connecticut State University at Jess Dow Field in first round action on Tuesday, November 1 at 4 p.m.
Admission for Tuesday's game is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for senior citizens and children and $1.00 for students. The winner of Tuesday's game will play the winner of #8 Adelphi University (8-7-1, 7-7-1 NE-10) and #1 Saint Rose (16-1-1, 13-1-1 NE-10) on Friday, November 4 at the highest remaining seed at a time to be determined later.
Fans who are unable to attend the contest can view live stats of the game via Southern Connecticut's athletics website, www.southernctowls.com, or the Stonehill College athletics website, www.stonehillskyhawks.com, by accessing each team's schedule page.
Stonehill (10-6-2, 8-5-2 NE-10) enters the NE-10 Tournament coming off a 5-0 win over Assumption College on Saturday, October 29. The Skyhawks have won three out of their last five contests outscoring opponents 8-4 during that span with two shutouts. In conference play this season, Stonehill is tied for first in goals allowed (nine) with Southern Connecticut and Saint Rose. The Skyhawks also lead the league in conference play in goals against average (GAA) slightly edging out the no. 1 seeded Golden Knights 0.58 GAA to 0.59 GAA.
Stonehill has appeared in three NE-10 championship games winning two in 1993 and 1995. The Skyhawks defeated Merrimack both times by identical 2-0 scores. Stonehill has also made seven appearances in the semifinal round.
Senior goalkeeper/forward Sarah Hickey (Lee, Mass./Lee), who transitioned from goalkeeper to forward midway through the season due to injuries upfront for Stonehill, has four goals and one assist to lead the offense. Hickey netted her first-career hat-trick in the Skyhawks 5-0 win over Assumption College on Saturday.
Freshman Maddie Manning (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) and sophomores Caitlin Martell (Randolph, Mass./Cardinal Spellman) and Casey Mathews (Mattapoisett, Mass./Old Rochester Regional) follow Hickey in the overall points standings in a three-way tie with six points each. Manning and Mathews have two goals and two assists apiece while Martell has scored three markers on the season.
In net, sophomore goalkeeper Amy Wheaton (Dartmouth, Mass./Dartmouth) has been vital to the Skyhawks league-leading defense in conference play posting seven shutouts this season. Wheaton has played 1,266:38 minutes this fall making 70 saves for a 6-5-2 record overall. In NE-10 play, Wheaton has a .903 save percentage which ranks first in the conference. Wheaton has been named the NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week once on the season (9/19).
|
| Elizabeth Belanger has helped anchor a defense that ranks first in goals against average in conference play this season. |
As much as Wheaton has been a strength in the net for Stonehill defensively, the Skyhawks back line consisting of juniors Elizabeth Belanger (Hooksett, N.H./Manchester Central), Allison Nagle (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) and Sara Nagle (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) and sophomore Jaemie Fasanello (East Bridgewater, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) have been vital to a conference leading nine goals allowed and 0.58 GAA this fall in 15 games played. Two out of the four backs have been named Defensive Player of the Week in the conference this season as S. Nagle become the first Stonehill player to earn the honor on September 6 and Fasanello garnered the weekly honor on September 26.
During the regular season, Stonehill defeated Southern Connecticut (10-4-3, 8-4-3 NE-10) at home, 1-0, on Manning's second marker of the year at 68:20. Wheaton made three saves in the contest to preserve the shutout (fourth of the season) pushing her scoreless streak to 430 consecutive minutes at that time.
The Owls have not won a game in their last five contests playing to a 0-3-2 record during that stretch. Southern Connecticut's last win came against Bentley University, 2-0, on October 8.
Southern Connecticut ranks 12th overall in the league in goals (19) and 10th in goals per game (1.2). Defensively, the Owls have given up a league-best nine goals during the entire regular season.
| NE-10 Quarterfinal round preview |
|
|
2011 Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Championship Field
1. Saint Rose
2. Merrimack
3. UMass Lowell
4. Southern Connecticut
5. Stonehill
6. Southern New Hampshire
7. Pace
8. Adelphi
Tuesday, November 1
Quarterfinals
Match 1: #8 Adelphi at #1 St. Rose
Match 2: #7 Pace at #2 Merrimack
Match 3: #6 Southern New Hampshire at #3 UMass Lowell
Match 4: #5 Stonehill at #4 Southern Connecticut
Friday, November 4
Semifinals - at Higher Seed
Match 5: Match 1 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner
Match 6: Match 2 Winner vs. Match 3 Winner
Sunday, November 6
Championship – at Higher Seed
Match 7: Match 5 Winner vs. Match 6 Winner
- www.stonehillskyhawks.com -
