2009 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship Central; Stevens Wins Empire 8 Title over W&J
HOBOKEN, N.J. (November 5, 2009) – The Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team completed its second-straight perfect conference regular season and has earned the No. 1 seed for the 2009 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship. Stevens will host the conference tournament that will take place on Saturday and Sunday (November 7 & 8) at the De Baun Athletic Complex in Hoboken, N.J. Stevens and fourth-seeded Ithaca College will play in the first semifinal at 12 p.m. and second-seeded Hartwick College and third-seeded Washington & Jefferson College will square off at 2:30 p.m. The two winners will play in Sunday’s championship game.
Schedule
Saturday, November 7, 2009 - Semifinals
No. 1 Stevens vs. No. 4 Ithaca – 12 p.m. – Stevens 5, Ithaca 0
No. 2 Hartwick vs. No. 3 W&J – 2:30 p.m. – W&J 1, Hartwick 0
Sunday, November 8, 2009 – Championship
Stevens vs. W&J – 1 p.m. – Stevens 3, W&J 1
Team Capsules
Stevens Ducks– 15-3 overall, 6-0 Empire 8 – No. 1 Seed
Stevens is the top seed and host of the Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship for the second-straight year. In 2008, the Ducks defeated Ithaca College and W&J en route to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Stevens is led by a trio of senior captains in Kara Borzillo, Erin Broderick, and Elizabeth Zmijewski. Borzillo is the program-leader in points, goals, and assists and is the first-ever National Field Hockey Coaches Association Senior All-Star. Broderick and Zmijewski are both defenders who hold together one of the top-ranked defenses in the nation. Stevens has had the last five Empire 8 Player of the Week award winners and junior goalkeeper Ellyn Griggs was the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Week twice. The Duck offense is led by sophomore Mallory Swanson (10 goals) and freshman Marguerite Chavez (nine goals, eight assists). Junior Lauren Griggs has tallied five times this season, and senior Jessica Ablonczy has been a force in the Stevens midfield, scoring once and recording four assists in addition to her countless intangibles.
Stevens Cumulative Season Stats
Hartwick Hawks – 11-6 overall, 5-1 Empire 8 – No. 2 Seed
Hartwick enters the weekend’s festivities with an 11-6 overall record and 5-1 mark in the conference. Of the Hawks’ six losses on the year, three have come at the hands of nationally-ranked opponents. ’Wick’s lone Empire 8 loss came in a heartbreaker in double overtime to Stevens, 1-0, on Oct. 17 and in their remaining five conference matches, the Hawks outscored their opponents, 11-1. Hartwick is in search of its first Empire 8 Championship since 2005 after capturing the title in three times in four years in 2002, 2004 and ’05. Freshman Kelsey Kimble (Dingmans Ferry, Pa.) and junior Jen Kaye (Altamont, N.Y.) have accounted for half of the Hawks’ scoring this season, totalling of 15 of the team’s 30 goals. Kimble leads the squad with eight goals and four assists for a team-best 20 points. She has also has notched four game-winning goals. Kaye paces the Hawks in the assist department with five. She also has seven tallies for a total of 19 points. Seniors Samantha Galm (Kingston, N.Y.) (five), and Morgan Cestari (Lake Grove, N.Y.) (four), and sophomore Brittany Baughman (Niskayuna, N.Y.) (three) also bolster the Hartwick offense. Goalie Mackenzie Chapman (Niskayuna, N.Y.), a three-time Empire 8 Goalie of the Week this season, has four shutouts in 2009 and a goals-against average of 1.22.
Hartwick Cumulative Season Statistics
Washington & Jefferson Presidents – 7-7 overall, 3-3 Empire 8 - No. 3 Seed
Washington & Jefferson has qualified for the Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship for the third-straight year and will meet a familiar foe in Hartwick. The Presidents and Hawks have met in the semifinals in each of the past two tournaments, both won by W&J. In 2007, W&J nipped Hartwick 1-0 on a goal midway through the first half. A pair of second-half goals five minutes apart last year helped W&J earn a 2-0 victory in Hoboken. The Presidents are still searching for their first Empire 8 Championship. Head Coach Jomara Coghlan, who enters the tournament with a 34-19 overall record, looks to junior midfielder Julianne Zackey (Easton, Pa.) to lead the offense. Zackey has five goals and nine assists this fall. Freshman forward Jennifer Marabella (Sinking Spring, Pa.) has also been a pleasant surprise as she is tied for second in the league with eight goals. Senior midfielder Rachel Mastromarino (Reading, Pa.) has won more matches (46) than any player in school history, while sophomore goalie Shelby Colyer (Oxford, Ohio) (5-6, 58 saves) has started 12-of-14 games this season.
W&J Cumulative Season Statistics
Ithaca College Bombers – 5-11 overall, 3-3 Empire 8 - No. 4 Seed
The Ithaca field hockey team is making its third-straight appearance in the Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship and has qualified for the conference tournament all three years that it has existed. Ithaca’s leading scorer is junior forward Katherine Brown (Akron, N.Y.), who has five goals and six assists for 16 points. She leads the Bombers in assists and is tied for the team goal-scoring lead with senior midfielder Annie Onzik (Shavertown, Pa.) (5-2–12). Brown and Onzik are the only two Ithaca players to have started all 16 games in 2009. Senior goalkeepers Chelsea Welsh (Scotia, N.Y.) and Courtney Dowell (Massapequa, N.Y.) have shared the goalkeeping duties for the Bombers for the last three years and have combined to start Ithaca’s last 49 games and play every minute in goal for the last three full seasons. Four of Ithaca’s five wins have come on the road. Sophomore Jessica Dillon (Mahopac, N.Y.) has scored a career-high four goals this season including two game-winning goals.
Ithaca Cumulative Season Statistics
Tournament Champions
2008 – Stevens Institute of Technology
2007 – Nazareth College
2006 – Ithaca College, Utica College
2005 – Hartwick College
2004 – Hartwick College
2003 – Ithaca College
2002 – Hartwick College
