#5 Field Hockey Tackles #7 Stonehill in '14 Opener
#5 Field Hockey Tackles #7 Stonehill in '14 Opener
Links: Live Stats
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Returning to the site of arguably the team's most dramatic victory last fall, the fifth-ranked Merrimack College field hockey team heads to Easton, Massachusetts, to battle conference rival and seventh-ranked Stonehill College to open the 2014 season Friday night at W.B. Mason Stadium. First whistle is set for 7 p.m.
The Basics
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 | 7 p.m.
Records: #5 Merrimack (0-0) | #7 Stonehill (0-0)
Location: W.B. Mason Stadium | Easton, Mass.
First Things First:
After returning to the NCAA Final Four for the third year in a row last November, Merrimack has its sights set on even greater heights this fall and returns several key components from last year's squad.
Senior captains Katie Bishop (Conway, N.H.) and Abbey Stacey (Sidney, Maine) join junior captain Sydney Bowker (Schenectady, N.Y.) to lead the way on the field, and the former two should anchor a stout defensive unit that will bring back all but two-time All-American Sarah Dunbar ('14) on the defensive end of the turf.
Up front, the Warriors bring back four of their top-six scorers after ranking seventh nationally in scoring average (3.23) and goals per game (3.3), as well as third in assists per game (2.55) and fifth in points per game (9.15).
Sophomores Maura Doyle (Merrimac, Mass.) and Nicole Bradley (Essex, Mass.) are the lead returning scorers after posting 23- and 13-point campaigns, respectively, a year ago. The former finished with nine goals and 23 assists, while the latter came alive late in the year and finished with five markers and three helpers. Both earned her a spot on the NE-10 All-Rookie Team in 2013.
In the midfield, juniors Katrina Squeri (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Christine Zubkus (Dover, N.H.) will lead the way after double-digit campaigns in 2013. And in net, classmate Madison Davis (San Jose, Calif.) is the projected starter after a breakthrough sophomore season that saw her finish with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .742 save percentage, both of which ranked seventh and 14th, respectively, in the country.
Last Year vs. Stonehill
Merrimack and Stonehill became awfully familiar last season, as the two nearby rivals squared off four times and split the meetings 2-2, including one regular season and one postseason win apiece.
But it was the final game between the two teams that mean the most, as the Warriors marched into W.B. Mason Stadium and pulled off a 4-3, overtime upset victory on the road in the NCAA Tournament First Round that knocked the Skyhawks out of playoffs and propelled Merrimack back to the National Semifinals for the third year in a row.
The Warriors:
- Finished 14-6 overall in 2013, qualifying for the Northeast-10 Championship as the No. 2 seed and earning the program's third consecutive berth in the NCAA Tournament Semifinals
- Ranked seventh in the country in scoring average (3.23), goals per game (3.30), eighth in GAA (1.66) and seventh in scoring margin (1.57) a year ago
- In the NE-10, owned the conference's third-best scoring offense and scoring defense while leading the league in shooting percentage
The Skyhawks:
- Enjoyed one of the program's finest seasons in recent memory last year, finishing 18-4 overall with an 8-2 mark in conference play en route to an appearance in the league title game
- Owned the third-best offense in the country, averaging 3.73 goals per contest, while ranking ninth in the nation in goals-against average (1.79)
- Junior forward Erika Kelly was a driving force behind that offense last year,
Up Next
The Warriors stay on the road for their next bout, traveling to Saint Anselm the following Saturday Sept. 13, for a 1 p.m. showdown.
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