EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University field hockey team is asking its fans and students to help “White Out” Whitenight Field when the No. 3-ranked Warriors host No. 4 Bloomsburg in their second PSAC East match-up of the season on Saturday at 1 p.m.
ESU (14-2, 5-1) won the first meeting, 3-2, on Oct. 2 at Bloomsburg (11-2, 4-1) for just its fifth win over the perennial conference and national power in 42 tries. The Warriors have never beaten Bloomsburg twice in the same season.
Senior forward
Jessica Frantz, the nation's leading scorer 26 goals (1.73 per game) entering the week, added two more goals and had the game-winner with 9:21 left in a 3-2 win at Kutztown on Tuesday night. She can tie the school record with her 29th goal of the season on Saturday and has already set ESU's single-season record with 62 points.
Frantz didn't score in the first game against Bloomsburg, the first of just two games she has been held out of the scoring column this season. Senior midfielder
Brittany Kocis had a goal and an assist and sophomore forward
Alyson Becker scored the go-ahead goal with 15 minutes left.
Bloomsburg held advantages of 14-4 in shots and 11-5 in penalty corners, but ESU junior goalkeeper
Maureen Ordnung made six saves, including two in the final 15 seconds, to secure the victory. Bloomsburg goalkeeper Meghan Hollenbach didn't make a save, and the Huskies rank third in DII in goals against average (1.22) but last of the 25 schools in save percentage (.667).
A win on Saturday would give the Warriors their fourth 15-win season in 27 years under head coach
Sandy Miller and move the squad within two victories of the school record of 17, which was set in 1995. ESU has played in nine PSAC tournaments and five NCAA tournaments under Miller, including last year's NCAA Division II playoffs.