October 27, 2003
LHU Field Hockey To Take On Shippensburg in PSAC Semifinal

LHU Head Coach Pat Rudy has taken
the Lady Eagles to the PSAC playoffs
 in each of her eight years at the helm,
 capturing four conference titles.

            This year’s Lady Eagle squad has an identical regular season mark to its 2002 campaign, finishing at 17-3 overall.  In the first year of the new conference set-up which has teams meeting twice each season, Lock Haven went 13-3 to finish third overall. All three of its losses were to teams in the playoffs, falling in road games at Bloomsburg (0-1, 2 ot), Shippensburg (3-5) and Indiana (1-2, ot). 
            Lock Haven is currently ranked second in Division II in scoring offense (3.8 gpg) and scoring defense (0.7 gpg). The defense has posted 11 shutouts and the offense has outscored opponents by an average of 3.0 goals per game.
            One of the most dominant scoring threats in all of Division II is sophomore forward Nikki Sweger (Dauphin/Central Dauphin East), who has 21 goals and four assists over the course of the season. She is second in the nation and tops in the PSAC in goals scored.  Three other Lady Eagles have posted ten or more goals this season, including freshman forward Mandy Alderfer (Harleysville/Souderton) with 11 goals and both midfielder/defender Jen DeNault (Hamburg/Hamburg) and midfielder Sara Segerlin (Penfield, N.Y./Webster) with 10 goals each.  
            Second in the PSAC in assists is midfielder Kellie Kulina (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin), who is credited with 12 assists in addition to seven goals.  Freshman forward Mandy Daschbach (Telford/Christopher Dock) adds five goals and two assists while another freshman, Sarah Huber ( Plymouth Meeting/Christopher Dock) has contributed four goals in a key reserve role. 
             Segerlin and Kulina have patrolled the midfield all season long, receiving top notch support from junior Katie Stewartz (Boyertown/Boyertown), who has assisted on four goals and started in all 20 of LHU’s contests.  
            Defensively, sophomores Courtney Hughes (Schwenksville/Souderton) and Rebecca Steffen (Hawley/Wallenpaupack) are now two-year veterans who lead a defense that has allowed only 14 goals all season and an average of just 5.2 shots per game.  Hughes has played a large role on corner attempts, posting four goals and is second on the team with eight assists. Steffen has one goal and two assists.  
            Also helping out on the defensive side of the field are freshman Jill Wessner (Kutztown/Kutztown) and junior Erin Weibley (Loysville/West Perry). 
            In goal, Melissa Stubblefield ( Carmel , N.Y./Carmel) owns a 0.58 goals against average, good for second in the PSAC.  Stubblefield has nine shutouts on the season, and has stopped 53 opponent shots on goal.  

#2 Shippensburg University (18-2, 14-2 PSAC): The Lady Raiders, ranked No. 1 in the nation, assembled a school-record number of wins in one of their most successful seasons on record.  This is their third-straight appearance in the PSAC playoffs, last season being eliminated by Lock Haven, 3-2, in the semifinals. 
            The Lady Raider offense is the PSAC’s most prolific, generating 13.20 points and 4.80 goals per game. The Shippensburg defense has also been effective, allowing only 16 goals this season including a total of 10 wins by shutout.
            The trio of junior forward Lindsey Knupp, senior forward Carli Bordner and senior defender Kelly Stewart has led the offensive efforts.  Knupp leads Shippensburg with 54 points off of 19 goals and a team-best 16 assists.  Bordner paces the team with 20 goals in addition to four assists, while Stewart has added 14 goals and 13 assists. Forwards Erica Joline, a junior, and sophomore Kelsi Balum have both put forth five goals and four assists.  Freshman midfielder Kendra Emery (3g, 9a) and junior midfielder Marissa Rothrock (3g, 3a) are starters, while the defense regularly fronts seniors Hilary Manning (3g, 3a) and Toni Held (1g) along with sophomore Gina Coombs (1g, 3a).
            Sophomore keeper Nora Luchansky has a 0.91 goals against average and has 93 saves to her credit, including 17 saves in the two games against the Lady Eagles.  

Regular-Season Outcome: Lock Haven and Shippensburg split games played this year, both teams winning on their home field.  Shippensburg won the first match-up, 5-3, while Lock Haven scored a 1-0 victory in the most recent meeting.  Lindsey Knupp and Erica Joline scored twice and Carli Bordner added the fifth goal in the Shippensburg win.  Lock Haven’s Mandy Alderfer scored the game-winner in the 1-0 contest, while Jen DeNault netted two goals and Nikki Sweger had one goal when the Lady Eagles were on the road at Shippensburg. 

The Road to the PSAC Championship Game: The winners of Tuesday’s semifinal games will meet on Saturday, November 1, at the site of the highest surviving seed for the PSAC Championship tilt.  The tentative start time for championship game is 1 p.m. , regardless of location. 

###LHU###