FIELD HOCKEY: GNAC Tournament Semifinal Summary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Courtesy of CSC Athletics Communications

NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer field hockey team made it past the semifinals for the first time in program history with its 3-0 shutout against the Blazers of Elms College. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Wilkinson (Lynn, Mass.) recorded her second consecutive post-season shutout leaving the Blazers scoreless throughout the match.

The Basics:
Score: Colby-Sawyer 3, Elms College 0
Records: Colby-Sawyer (16-3, 12-1 GNAC) | Elms College (9-9, 7-5 GNAC) Location: Sally Shaw Veitch Track & Field

Rapid Recap:

• The Elms defense came prepared as the Chargers fired three shots towards the keeper before the Blazers could put up one, which came in the 11th minute of the first quarter and was collected by Wilkinson for her first save of the day. Neither team was able to score, leaving the first period scoreless.
• About halfway into the second quarter, the Chargers were able to draw a penalty stroke in which graduate student Julia Lanctot(Sandown, N.H.) stepped up and shot passed the keeper to score the first Charger goal and her 10th on the season.
• The third period was much quieter as only three shots were taken, and all by Colby-Sawyer student athletes. However, the team was awarded with five total penalty corners throughout the period, which were all taken by junior Bella Silva (Danvers, Mass.). Unfortunately for the Chargers, neither of those five corners were followed by goal.
• Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, sophomore Aleah Murph (Portland, Maine) launched one towards the cage which bounced off the pads of the keeper, only to land in front of junior Aoife Daly (Harwich, Mass.), who passed it along to senior Chrissy Coffield (North Conway, N.H.) for the second goal of the match. On the other end of the quarter, first-year Courtney Larson scored her 12th goal of the season with help from first-year Sabrina Lippold (Windham, N.H.) with less than two minutes remaining in the game to put the final dagger to end the Blazers' season.

Coaches Corner:
"Impressive performance from the team today", said head coach Emily Dewdney. "I'm really proud of their efforts and execution. We put ourselves in the position that we set out to at the beginning of the year and all focus is now on Saturday."

Stats & Figures:

• Lippold earned her very first collegiate start of her career in a post-season game in which she also collected her first collegiate assist.
• The Chargers displayed 16 total shots with 10 on frame, opposed to the Blazers four total shots, with only one on frame.
• By keeping the Blazers from scoring, Wilkinson earned her sixth shutout of the season and the seventh of her career at Colby-Sawyer College.

Up Next: The #1 seed Chargers will face the #2 seed Wildcats of Johnson and Wales University on Saturday, November 6th at 1 pm for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

Courtesy of JWU Athletics Communications

PROVIDENCE –The No. 2 seeded Johnson & Wales Field Hockey team defeated the No. 3 seeded. Joseph's (Me.) Monks in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Semifinals 1-0 (OT).  The Wildcats will play in the GNAC Championship for the first time in program history. 

A quiet first quarter ended with the score knotted at 0-0.  The lone shot was an attempt by the Monks with a shot on goal from Olivia Esposito thatt was blocked by Madison Flaxington (Lincoln, R.I.). 

Johnson & Wales created two opportunities in the second quarter, but were unable to capitalize.  Closing out the second frame, the Monks stole the ball in the JWU half and pushed towards net in a 2-on-1 opportunity, but the shot went wide and the game remained scoreless heading into halftime.

The Wildcats created more pressure in the second half, continuing to create opportunities in front of the Monks' net.  Mid-way through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats took a penalty corner through Margaret Johnson (Bear, Del.) who found Jillian Miele (Wilmington, Mass.) at the top of the zone.  She passed back to Johnson who fired a shot and forced a sliding save by Kassidy Collins (Gardiner, Me.) in the Monks' net. 

Late in the final frame, Johnson drove the ball from midfield into the Monks' half and sent a centering pass to the front of the Monks' net, but JWU was unable to find the final touch, and regulation ended tied scoreless.

In the first overtime period, Miele found herself in front of net on a pass from Katie Sloan (Ellicott City, Md.), but was unable to find the back of the net as Alison Michalik (Rutland, Mass.) made a defensive save for the Monks.  With under a minute remaining in the first overtime, Miele drove the ball forward and earned a penalty stroke with an opportunity to send the Wildcats to the championship game.  Miele fired into the bottom right corner for the game winning goal.

The Wildcats will travel to New London, New Hampshire on Saturday to take on the Colby-Sawyer Chargers in the GNAC Championship game.