Field Hockey and Soccer Teams Earn ECAC Berths
KEENE, N.H. 11/9/09 - The Keene State field hockey and women’s soccer teams have earned berths to their respective ECAC Division III New England tournaments.
Selected as the top seed in the eight-team field hockey tournament, the Owls (18-5) will face a familiar foe, Plymouth State University (10-8), the eighth seed, in a quarterfinal game scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m. If KSC wins, it will host the semifinal and final rounds on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s games will be played at noon and 2:30 p.m., and Sunday’s championship game will take place at noon.
The second seed in the eight-team women’s soccer tournament, the Owls (14-6-2) will go up against seventh-seed Lesley University (15-4-1) of Cambridge, Mass., in an opening-round game scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. If KSC wins, it will host a semifinal game on Saturday at 1 p.m. The highest remaining seed will play the championship game on their home turf on Sunday at 1 p.m. Brandeis University (9-6-3) is the two-time defending champion and top seed.
The Keene State field hockey team, which lost to UMass-Dartmouth (3-2 OT) in the Little East Championship game on Saturday, will be making its seventh appearance in the ECAC Tournament. The Owls, who saw their run of five- consecutive LEC titles come to an end, defeated Springfield College 2-1 to claim the 2003 crown.
Plymouth State, which lost to UMass-Dartmouth 5-0 in an opening-round LEC tournament game, is making its sixth trip to the ECAC tournament. The Panthers won the 2004 championship and lost to Endicott College (1-0) in last year’s final. Earlier this season, the Owls posted a 3-0 shutout win over PSU.
The Keene State women’s soccer is no stranger to ECAC tournament play. The Owls, who lost to Eastern Conn. (1-0) in the finals of the LEC tournament, will be making their 10th trip to the ECAC championships. The Owls won the ECAC Division III title in 2005 and as a Division II member in 1986, 1987, and 1993. Last season, KSC fell in the semifinals to the University of New England (2-1) in a game decided in overtime.
Lesley University will be making its first-ever post-season appearance. The Lynx captured the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women’s soccer championship with a 3-1 victory over Mitchell College on Saturday. For Lesley, it was their first conference championship in program history.
