#7 Field Hockey Set for Huge Road Test in Regular-Season Finale at #3 Stonehill
FIELD HOCKEY ROUNDS OUT REGULAR SEASON AT UNBEATEN STONEHILL TONIGHT
Links: Live Stats
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Looking to wrap up the regular season on a high note, the No. 7 Merrimack College field hockey team will look to pull off the upset of the season when it travels to unbeaten and third-ranked Stonehill for a midweek Northeast-10 Conference showdown tonight in Easton, Mass. First whistle is set for 7 p.m.
The Basics
Date/Time: Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013 | 7 p.m.
Records: Merrimack (12-4, 8-1 NE-10) | Stonehill (16-0, 8-0 NE-10)
Location: Stadium | Location
Last Time Out: Merrimack 5, AIC 2
Paced by goals from four different players, the ninth-ranked Merrimack College field hockey team posted an impressive 5-2 road victory at American International in Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Abdow Field in Springfield, Mass.
Freshman forward Maura Doyle was the leader on offense with five points, tallying the final goal of the first half and the last goal of the game, while senior Candace Waldie scored once and assisted on another to lead the visitors.
In net, sophomore Madison Davis turned away four shots to best counterpart Kori Huffman (three saves), as the Warriors improved their season-best win streak to six consecutive contests heading into Tuesday afternoon's regular-season finale at Stonehill.
Earlier This Season vs. Stonehill
Freshmen forwards Maura Doyle and Nicole Bradley connected for the game's first goal just five minutes into regulation, but Stonehill's Erika Kelly responded with a hat trick of her own to will the fourth-ranked Skyhawks to a 3-1 victory over Merrimack on Sept. 17 at Martone-Mejail Field.
Kelly – who brought in an astonishing seven goals in just two previous games beforehand – was the driving force for the visitors in that September showdown, accounting for all three of the Stonehill goals to lead the Skyhawks to victory.
After going into the break tied at 1-1, Merrimack again had its chances, suffering some bad luck on a rebounded shot that senior Candace Waldie just missed punching in while also failing to capitalize on a pair of odd-man rushes. That, however, set up Kelly for more damage, and the league's leading scorer tallied the game-winner at 48:43 off a penalty corner feed from Kelsey Davis to put the Skyhawks up for good. Kelly added one more insurance marker on a breakaway with less than 10 minutes to go, and that would stand for the final margin of victory.
Northeast-10 Standings/Playoff Picture
T1. LIU Post (8-0)
T1. Stonehill (8-0)
3. Merrimack (8-1)
4. Bentley (4-4)
5. So. Connecticut (4-6)
T6. Adelphi (3-5)
T6. Saint Michael's (3-5)
T6. Saint Anselm (3-5)
T9. American Int'l (2-9)
T9. Assumption (2-6)
11. Franklin Pierce (1-8)
Merrimack has already clinched a spot in the NE-10 Championships and will be no lower than the No. 3 seed in the six-team field. The top-two teams receive first-round byes, as the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds host quarterfinal matchups before the Semifinals and Finals, all of which are hosted by the higher seeds.
The Warriors:
- Have won six in a row and have outscored the opposition by a 23-4 margin during that span
- Going even further back, the Warriors have own 10 of their last 11, with the only blemish being a 4-3, double overtime defeat at unbeaten LIU Post
- Boast two of the top scorers in the conference in Waldie and classmate Jessica Otis; the former's 16 goals and 42 points both rank fourth in the league, while the latter's 10 assists rank fourth
- In net, Davis' 1.35 GAA is the third-lowest in the league
- As a team, average 3.7 goals per game on offense (3rd) and 1.66 goals per game allowed on defense (4th)
The Skyhawks:
- Have enjoyed one of their finest seasons in recent memory, entering Tuesday 16-0 overall with two games remaining in the regular season, but appropriately enough, against the other two best teams in the NE-10 in Merrimack and LIU Post
- Over the last five games, have outscored the opposition by a 26-6 margin
- Average 4.2 goals per game offensively and allow 1.65 goals per game defensively, the second- and third-best marks in the conference
- Erika Kelly is among the favorites for NE-10 Player of the Year thanks to her tremendous offensive campaign; she leads the Skyhawks with 31 goals (most in NE-10) and ranks second in the league with 63 points
- Elizabeth Genovese's 1.66 GAA is fifth-best among conference netminders
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