October 25, 2001
2001 PSAC Field Hockey Championship Dual Set 
Between Lock Haven and East Stroudsburg 

 

October 27, 2001   -  Charlotte Smith Field - Lock Haven, Pa.  -  3 p.m.
 

(Lock Haven, Pa.) -The 23rd Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Field Hockey championship will get underway between Lock Haven University (19-1, 7-1 PSAC) and East Stroudsburg University (15-5, 6-2 PSAC) on Saturday, October 27, at 3 p.m. on Lock Haven’s Charlotte Smith Field.  
            Lock Haven, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, won the conference regular season title by posting a 7-1 record in PSAC competition. By virtue of their top seed, the Lady Eagles earned a bye in the first round of playoff action and the right to host the championship game.  East Stroudsburg, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 2 seed Shippensburg University, 2-1 in overtime, in the semifinal match-up on Tuesday afternoon.
            Under the direction of sixth year Head Coach Pat Rudy, the Lady Eagles, ranked #1 in the nation (NFHCA) in Division II, enter the championship game with a 19-1 overall mark.  Lock Haven’s single loss in conference play came against perennial rival Bloomsburg University, 3-2 in overtime in the last regular season game of the year.  The Lady Eagles lead the PSAC in scoring offense with 4.74 goals per game, and also headline the conference in scoring defense, holding a 4.58 goals margin over opponents on a game-by-game average.        

 

               Highlighting the Lock Haven offense is a trio of forwards, Shannon Spease (Liverpool/Greenwood), Val George (New Oxford/New Oxford), and Erika Grap (Van Etten, N.Y./Spencer-Van Etten).  Spease leads the PSAC in scoring, tallying 2.95 points per game off a conference-best 23 goals along with 10 assists. George has pocketed 17 goals and eight assists over the course of the season.  Grap adds the final punch to the potent Lock Haven scoring attack, chipping in with 14 goals and seven assists during the regular season.  
            Defensively, the Lady Eagles have logged 16 shutouts, tying last year’s record.  The stingy LHU defenders have also only allowed an average of just 4.3 shots per game.  Key players in the Haven backfield include Katie Cornax (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay), Jen DeNault (Hamburg/Hamburg), and Jocelyn Held (Slatington/Northwestern Lehigh). LHU’s last line of defense is senior LHU keeper Tara Beach (Greene, N.Y./Greene), who will be making her final conference post-season appearance in goal.  Beach owns a conference-leading 0.263 goals against average, and has allowed just five goals all season long.  
           East Stroudsburg, under the guidance of 18th year Head Coach Sandy Miller, is currently ranked fourth in the nation, and knocked off second seed Shippensburg University in the conference semifinal game, 2-1 in overtime, for the right to advance to the championship finals.  The best conference post-season finish ever for a Warrior team, East Stroudsburg enters the weekend carrying a 15-5 overall mark. 
          The Warrior offense rates fourth in the PSAC, posting 2.6 goals per game over the regular season.  Top scoring threats include forwards junior Michelle Butkus (Douglasville/Daniel Boone) and sophomore Sara Gorman (Biglerville/Biglerville).  Butkus has accumulated 10 goals and five assists over the course of the year, and Gorman has added nine goals and three assists.  Returning All-America junior Kate Dideon (Lancaster/Living Word Academy) (5g, 7a), senior forward Mardelle Swoyer (Jonestown/Northern Lebanon) (6g, 3a), and junior midfielder Shannon McCracken (Collegeville/Methacton) (5g, 5a) all contribute to the scoring drive. 
         Defensively, junior keeper Kelly Wagner (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) is fifth in the conference with a 0.84 goals against average.  In shots faced, she has a save percentage of .904, deflecting 150 of 166 attempts on goal. 
          This contest will be the 17th appearance in the PSAC title game for the Lady Eagles, who have brought home the trophy ten times, including the 2000 championship. This is East Stroudsburg’s ninth appearance in the PSAC playoffs and the first time advancing to the title match-up.   
          In regular season action, Lock Haven defeated East Stroudsburg, 1-0, on Charlotte Smith Field back on September 19.  The Lady Eagles were awarded a penalty stroke in the game’s 42nd minute, which Shannon Spease converted for the game-winning score.
    
 

 

###LHU###

Back to LHU Athletics Home       Back to Recent Releases