Ravens make first postseason appearance since 2001

RINDGE, N.H. (October 27, 2008) – The sixth-seeded Franklin Pierce University field hockey team makes its first appearance in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships since the 2001 season on Wednesday afternoon, when it travels to third-seeded Southern Connecticut State for a quarterfinal contest. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Jess Dow Field in New Haven, Conn.

The Ravens and the Owls split their two regular season meetings. The most recent head-to-head contest was a 4-3, Franklin Pierce win at Sodexo Field in Rindge on Sept. 30. In that game, junior Katie Debler (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and freshman Danielle Dolan (West Brookfield, Mass./Quabog Regional) each scored a pair of first-half goals as the Ravens took a 4-1 lead into halftime and held on for the victory. Earlier in the season, Ann Berry and Kim Merritt scored 2:20 apart in the first half on Sept. 2 as SCSU edged Franklin Pierce, 2-1, at Jess Dow Field. Dolan scored the lone goal of the game for the Ravens in that affair.

Franklin Pierce has improved six games to 7-12 (7-11 NE-10) after posting a 1-18 (1-15 NE-10) record a year ago. The Ravens have used both youth, getting five goals from Dolan, and experience from their returning players, as sophomore midfielder Ashley Moirano (Vero Beach, Fla./South Burlington (Vt.)) and junior forward Ashley Abernethy (Bellingham, Mass./Bellingham) have led the team thus far with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Abernethy is currently tied for 10th in the Northeast-10 with six assists. Defensively, senior Kayleigh Jaksina (Townsend, Mass./North Middlesex) is tied for sixth in the conference with three defensive saves. Perhaps the biggest turnaround for the Ravens from a year ago has been in front of the cage, where freshman goalkeeper Kristin Tormollan (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) continues to impress. Having played nearly every minute all season long, Tormollan ranks fourth in the conference in saves (118), sixth in goals against average (1.93) and seventh in save percentage (.761).

For Southern Connecticut State, the 2008 season has also been a tale of improvement. After missing the conference tournament on the last day of the season a year ago, the Owls posted a 12-6 conference record to go with a 12-8 overall mark and took the third seed heading into the conference championships. SCSU heads into the postseason with the second-most potent offense in the conference, averaging 3.10 goals per game. The Owls have been led all year by the duo of former high school teammates, senior midfielder Whitney Martin and sophomore forward Sara Winterbottom. Martin ranks third in the conference in points (36), fourth in goals (14) and is tied for seventh in assists (eight). Meanwhile, Winterbottom is third in the Northeast-10 in goals (15) and tied for fourth in points (33). Also dangerous for SCSU are sophomore midfielder Ann Berry and senior midfielder Grace Martha, each of which is tied for third in the conference with 10 assists. In net, sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Zarrella ranks second in the conference in saves (143), but eighth in both goals against average (2.61) and save percentage (.730).

The winner of Wednesday’s game moves on to a semifinal against second-seeded Bentley on Saturday at Cushing Field in Lowell, Mass., as top-seeded Massachusetts Lowell will host the final two rounds of the tournament. Bentley started the season 1-5, but has since rattled off 14 consecutive victories to take a 15-5 (15-3 NE-10) record into the postseason. The Falcons are led by Nicole Murphy, who ranks 10th in the conference with 24 points.

In the other half of the bracket, fourth-seeded Stonehill hosts fifth-seeded Saint Michael’s in Wednesday’s other quarterfinal, also scheduled for 3 p.m., to be held at W.B. Mason Stadium in Easton, Mass. Claire Hourihan leads Stonehill and ranks second in the Northeast-10 with 46 points, while Andrea Slaven of Saint Michael’s has 29 points, good for a tie for seventh in the conference.

The winner of this contest gets host and top seed Massachusetts Lowell in a semifinal on Saturday. The River Hawks are averaging 4.20 goals per game, 1.10 per game more than the league’s second-most potent attack. Sammy Macy leads the conference in goals (22) and points (50).

The winners of Saturday’s semifinals will meet in the championship game on Sunday at 12 p.m. at Cushing Field.

Northeast-10 Conference Field Hockey Championships
(Seeds in parentheses)

Quarterfinals
Wednesday, Oct. 29 – 3 p.m.
(6) Franklin Pierce at (3) Southern Connecticut State
(5) Saint Michael’s at (4) Stonehill

Semifinals
Saturday, Nov. 1 – at Cushing Field (Lowell, Mass.)
Saint Michael’s/Stonehill at (1) Massachusetts Lowell – 12 p.m.
Franklin Pierce/SCSU vs. (2) Bentley – 3 p.m.

Championship
Sunday, Nov. 2 – at Cushing Field (Lowell, Mass.)
Semifinal winners – 1 p.m.