Field Hockey Prepares for NEWMAC Semifinals
Tournament Bracket | NEWMAC Field Hockey
NEWMAC Field Hockey Tournament History
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Nov. 5, 2009) – Just two wins separate the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team from its third New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Championship. The sixth seeded Lyons sent shockwaves through the league, when they stunned third seeded Clark University 2-0 in the Quarterfinal Round last Saturday. In the process, they became the only lower seed to advance out of the opening round. Mount Holyoke’s quest for the title will resume on Saturday, when it squares off against second seeded MIT in the Semifinal Round. The contest will be hosted by Wellesley College and is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. MIT advanced by way of a 3-0 win over seventh seeded Babson College. In their first Semifinal appearance since the 2005 season, the Lyons will be looking to avenge a 7-1 setback that took place at MIT during the regular season.
NEWMAC TOURNAMENT: The NEWMAC Tournament kicked off with four Quarterfinal Round contests last Saturday. In addition to Mount Holyoke’s 2-0 win over Clark and MIT’s 3-0 victory over Babson, top seeded Wellesley downed eighth seeded Wheaton College 4-1, and fourth seeded Springfield College routed fifth seeded WPI. Wellesley is slated to host the three remaining matches. Both Semifinal Round contests will take place on Saturday, and the Championship will be held on Sunday.
Quarterfinals: Saturday, October 31 at higher seed's site
#1 Wellesley College def. #8 Wheaton College, 4-1
#2 MIT def. #7 Babson College, 3-0
#6 Mount Holyoke College def. #3 Clark University, 2-0
#4 Springfield College def. #5 WPI, 5-1
Semifinals: Saturday, November 7 at Wellesley College
#4 Springfield College vs. #1 Wellesley College – 11:00 a.m.
#6 Mount Holyoke College vs. #2 MIT – 2:00 p.m.
Championship: Sunday, November 8 at Wellesley College
Semifinal Winners – 1:00 p.m.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Mount Holyoke is perfect in three previous postseason meetings against MIT. The Lyons downed the Engineers 3-1 in the Quarterfinal Round in 2001 and 4-1 in the Semifinal Round in 2003. In both those seasons, they went on to capture the NEWMAC Tournament Championship. The teams’ last postseason meeting came in 2005, with Mount Holyoke prevailing by a score of 4-2. Springfield has recorded five straight NEWMAC Tournament Championships and seven overall. Wellesley finished on top in 1998 and 2002.
THE MATCHUP: Sixth seeded Mount Holyoke faces off against second seeded MIT in a NEWMAC Tournament Semifinal Round match on Saturday. The contest will take place at the Wellesley College Field Hockey Field beginning at 2:00 p.m. In 28 previous meetings between the programs, each side has earned 14 victories.
MOST RECENT MEETING: When the two squads met during the regular season on October 24, MIT cruised to a 7-1 triumph. First year forward Kimberly Barker posted a hat trick, while senior midfielder Ekavali Mishra collected one goal and three assists. MIT took control of the contest early, scoring three times off penalty corner sets within the first 14:30. The Engineers tacked on two more goals before the end of the opening frame to push their lead to 5-0. They then ran their lead to 7-0 with two more unanswered tallies within the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. The Lyons lone goal of the day came from sophomore forward Maddy Starbranch, who knocked in a rebound with 2:10 remaining in regulation.
THE LYONS: Mount Holyoke (10-7, 4-4 NEWMAC) captured four straight victories before falling to both Wesleyan University (3-0) and MIT (7-1) in the final week of the regular season. The Lyons rebounded with a stunning 2-0 victory over third seeded Clark University in the Quarterfinal Round of the NEWMAC Tournament last Saturday. Sophomore forward Shara Robertson scored what proved to be the match winner off an assist from senior forward Mary Kate Switchenko at the 17:14 mark. The Lyons then put things away in the early stages of the second stanza, sophomore defender Tricia Chase set up classmate Jess Fajardo. Both Mount Holyoke goals came as a result of penalty corner opportunities. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Gibson made two saves en route to her fifth shutout of the year. For the season, Robertson has piled 25 points on 12 goals and one assist. Switchenko and classmate Katelyn Frick have found the cage six times apiece, while Chase has chipped in with two goals, five assists and eight defensive saves. Chase was named NEWMAC Player of the Week and ECAC New England Defensive Player of the Week for the week of October 12-18. Gibson has been Mount Holyoke’s featured goalkeeper. In 1232 minutes played, she has registered a goals against average of 1.53 and a save percentage of .771.
THE ENGINEERS: MIT (15-4, 5-3 NEWMAC) will enter the contest riding a six match win streak. Over that span, the Engineers have outscored their opponents 22-2. They cruised to a 3-0 victory over Babson in the Quarterfinal Round of the NEWMAC Tournament behind goals from Barker, junior forward Danielle Smith and sophomore forward Kameron Klauber. Junior Keri Dixon turned in her fourth shutout of the fall with four saves. Barker has racked up 38 points on 17 goals and four assists thus far this season. MIT has also received a boost from junior forward Jessica Oleinik, who has found the back of the cage 13 times and assisted on three other goals. Sophomore defender Anna Teruya has accounted for ten goals and five helpers. Dixon has played all 1359 minutes between the pipes for the Engineers. She boasts a goals against average of 1.44 and a save percentage of .757.
NEXT UP: The winner of this match will face off against the winner of the contest between top seeded Wellesley and fourth seeded Springfield on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.