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Lock
Haven: This is the third consecutive year that the Lady Eagles have
seen regional action, but the first under the direction of Head Coach Doug
Moore. Lock Haven is ranked eighth in the nation, and enters this weekend's
contest with a school-record 17-3 overall mark.
The Lady Eagles’ bettered any previous Haven squad with 17 wins and
their .850 winning percentage is also the best currently on the books.
Lock Haven is coming off its third consecutive PSAC championship win,
outlasting Bloomsburg University, 2-1 in the fourth overtime, in a repeat
performance of last year's conference title match.
The Crimson and White offense is averaging 3.55 points each game, with
junior forward Katie Taylor (Hammonton, N.J./Edgewood) and sophomore midfielder Naomi
Clarke (Cambridge, New Zealand/St.
Peter's School) serving as the main contributors to the attack. The two
share the team lead in goals scored, each with 12 on the season. Taylor, a
Second Team All-PSAC pick, is LHU's overall scoring leader with 35 points total
(12g, 11a). Clarke, a two-time First Team All-PSAC selection, adds 31 points,
scoring 12 goals and seven assists.
The Lady Eagle offense benefits from impressive depth, including Erin
McKasson (Irwin/Penn Trafford) (6g, 13a), Brooke Rangi (Kawerau, New Zealand/Kawerau) (9g, 6a), Kristi
Ward (Philadelphia/Nazareth Academy) (7g, 7a) and Becky
Nichols (Wind Gap/Nazareth) (5g, 3a). McKasson, Ward and Nichols were all
recently honored as all-conference selections.
Mainstays on the Lady Eagle defense, which has allowed a paltry 0.90
goals per game, include Adria Vitale (Philadelphia/St. Maria Goretti), Erika Schneider
(Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley), First Team All-PSAC selection Shannon
Becker (Durham/Palisades), Second Team All-PSAC Christa
Cox (Ephrata/Ephrata) and PSAC Championship MVP Danielle Smith (Johnson,
N.Y./Minisink Valley). Smith
scored both the equalizer and game-winning goal in the Lady Eagles’ victory
over Bloomsburg in the PSAC tournament final.
Haven netminder Ashley Babiarz (Philadelphia/Northeast), who
earned starting keeper duties just five games ago, has posted a 0.272 goals
against average, allowing two goals while recording 23 saves in 661 minutes of
action.
Slippery
Rock:
The Slippery Rock University women’s soccer team is making its first-ever
trip to the Northeast Region finals guided by seventh-year Head Coach Noreen
Herlihy. SRU has recorded a 14-4
ledger this season, tying the school record for wins in a season.
Slippery Rock, ranked 25th nationally, advanced to the
regional championship game after defeating Bloomsburg, 1-0, in the first round
of the NCAA playoffs.
The Rock offense averages 2.72 goals per game, riding on the
performances of rookie forward Sara Arsenault (Rome, N.Y./Rome Free Academy).
Arsenault, the PSAC Rookie of the Year, paced Slippery Rock scoring with
34 points off of a team-best 14 goals and six assists.
Fellow striker and sophomore Cara Yannotti (Pittsburgh/Plum) is
second on the team with 13 goals, including the unassisted game-winner in the
first round victory, and has 31 total points (13 g, 5 a).
Midfielders senior Hilary Gorzelnik (Boonton, N.J./Jefferson) and
junior Kelly Dreibelbis (Millersburg/Upper Dauphin) also add a scoring
punch to the SRU attack. Gorzelnik,
a second-team all-conference pick, has five goals and five assists, while
Dreibelbis has added three goals and five assists.
Slippery Rock defenders have allowed 15 goals over the 18-game stretch,
an average of just 0.833 per game. Additionally,
of SRU’s 14 wins, 10 have been of the shutout variety.
First Team All-PSAC defender Maureen Ennis (Brookfield, Ireland/St.
Alders C.S.) leads the way, also scoring two goals and three assists.
Fellow defenders include freshman Janet Sosnicki (Copiague,
N.Y./Copiague) and junior Kelly Zander (Lancaster/Lampeter-Strasburg).
In goal for The Rock is senior keeper Allyn Blind (Middletown,
N.Y./Lakeshore). Blind was
among conference leaders in goals against average with an .812 mark on the
season.
The
LHU-SRU Series:
Lock Haven and Slippery Rock met under the lights earlier this year in
regular season conference action, The Rock coming away with the 2-0 shutout
victory over the Lady Eagles. Sara
Arsenault and Kelly Dreibelbis both scored goals in the win.
Last season, SRU defeated Lock Haven in overtime, 0-1, in the regular
season, before LHU bounced back for a 1-0 victory in the PSAC post-season
tournament semifinal.
Up
Next:
The winner of Saturday’s contest will take on the New England Region champion
in the NCAA Quarterfinals on either Nov. 17 or 18.
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