Field Hockey set for second-round showdown with Juniata
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey begins another run in the NCAA tournament on Saturday as the Bears play host to Juniata in the second-round. The Bears, hosting a four-team regional, also welcome NESCAC teams Tufts and Middlebury to Collegeville.
The Bears will host Juniata at 11 a.m. on Saturday, followed by Tufts and Middlebury at 2 p.m. The winners advance to the NCAA Semifinals hosted by Christopher Newport University on November 19-20.
Ursinus is making its seventh straight appearance in the tournament, holding an 11-5 mark with a national championship back in 2006. The Bears have advanced to the semifinals in the last three seasons.
This game against Juniata marks only the second meeting between the two squads. Juniata, playing out of the Landmark Conference, defeated Ursinus 2-0 back in Saturday, November 10, 2007, at Lebanon Valley College in the NCAA second-round.
Juniata is already 1-0 in the tournament, having defeated the College of Wooster 3-0 on Wednesday afternoon in Ohio. The Eagles, with a record of 18-4, are led by senior forward Paula Price who leads the team with 39 points (17g, 5a) and junior forward Shauna Deschenes who has 30 points (11g, 8a).
Senior goalkeeper Moira Nugent has 65 saves with a 1.20 GAA and four shutouts.
Ursinus, the Centennial Conference champion with a record of 18-1 overall, is led by junior forward Alyssa Thren (Barto, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) who has 29 goals and nine assists for 67 points. She set the Centennial Conference record for goals in a career this season. Senior forward Jennifer Bayzick (Sugarloaf, Pa./Hazelton Area) is second on the team in points with 58 points (24g, 10a).
In goal, senior LauraLee Lightwood-Mater (Bethlehem, Pa./George School) has 60 saves with six shutouts. Senior defender Lindsey Doutt (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) leads a defensive unit that has posted ten shutouts this year and allows just over one goal per game.
Ursinus is 7-1 at home in the NCAA tournament, with the only loss coming in 2008 to Bowdoin in the semifinals.
