Magical FP Season Ends, 4-0, at East Stroudsburg
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. (November 4,
2000) - Only leading 1-0 at halftime, East Stroudsburg
University came out roaring in the second half to trounce Franklin
Pierce, 4-0, in the semi-finals of the ECAC Division II Field
Hockey Championships Saturday on Whitenight Field.
Longwood won the other semi-final game, 3-1, over defending
champion Assumption. ESU (14-6) and Longwood (14-5) will meet for
the title Sunday at 12 noon.
The Warriors had a 33-1 edge in shots in the second half and scored
three times on goals by Shannon McCracken, Kate Dideon and Jess
Anders. McCracken and Steph Hippman had assists. It was Dideon's
16th goal of the season.
The only first-half goal was scored by Julie Schantzenbach after a
pass from Hippman, who was returning to action after missing more
than a month with two broken fingers.
Kelly Wagner made three saves for the shutout, her ninth of the
season. The entire defense of starters Kelly Derby, Alisha Rigel
and Nicole DiGeronimo and reserves Crystal Vlasak and Becca
Henderson kept the pressure off Wagner.
Longwood broke a 1-1 tie with two second-half goals by Emily
Prothero and Cheryl Andrukonis in its victory.
The loss ends Franklin Pierce's unlikely season of success. The
Ravens won ten games and finished with a 10-8 record, its best and
only winning season in the history of the program. Along the way,
Franklin Pierce knocked off Northeast power and then third- ranked
Saint Michael's College, 4-1 on Homecoming weekend.
The Ravens put four players on the Northeast-10 All-Conference
team. Seniors Karen Clark
(Brewster, N.Y.), Kristen
Clarke (Brewster, N.Y.), and Heidi Nichols (Fremont, N.H.) and
junior Hilary Shaw (Gardiner,
Maine) were all honored for their role in putting FP
field hockey on the map in 2000.