Saturday (1 p.m.) - ESU vs. Shippensburg (Live Stats)
* Winner advances to NCAA DII semifinals
* Friday, Nov. 18 vs. Millersville (at Stonehill)

Tickets:
Adults - $10
Seniors (65+) and Children (2-12) - $5
Shippensburg Students with ID - $2
ESU Students with ID - Free

NCAA DII Championships Program
* Online  l  PDF


EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University, the defending NCAA Division II field hockey champions, begins this year's NCAA Tournament at 1 p.m. on Saturday, hosting Shippensburg in a first round contest at Whitenight Field.

The Warriors (15-4) were chosen as the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic Region, while Shippensburg (17-3) is the No. 3 seed. The winner of Saturday's game will play No. 1 seed Millersville (17-4) in the NCAA semifinals on Friday, Nov. 18.

No. 1 seed LIU Post (15-3), No. 2 St. Anselm (16-4) and No. 3 Stonehill (14-5) are the three teams in the East Region of the bracket. The winners of the two regions will meet for the DII national championship on Sunday, Nov. 20. Stonehill, located in Easton, Mass., will host both the semifinal and championship rounds.

Saturday will be the third meeting of the season between ESU and Shippensburg, with the Warriors winning the first two tilts in overtime.

Senior back Emily Howell, the 2016 PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Year and a 2015 All-American, supplied the game-winner 2:46 into overtime in a 1-0 road victory on Sept. 17. Senior forward Robin Stevenson and junior midfielder Ashley Chioda scored in the rematch on Oct. 22 at Whitenight Field, with Chioda's first collegiate marker securing a 2-1 win with less than five minutes remaining in double overtime.

Prior to this season, ESU's last win over the Raiders was a 2-1 triumph in the PSAC semifinals in 2010. Shippensburg won all six meetings between 2011-15 and holds a 30-20-2 lifetime advantage in the series.

This is the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Warriors, with the program also qualifying in 1987-88, 1990, 2001, 2009-10 and 2015. Saturday will be the first time that ESU has had an opportunity to host an NCAA Tournament contest at Whitenight Field.

The Warriors had an eight-game winning streak from Oct. 1-29, outscoring opponents 25-3 during that span, before they were edged 1-0 by Millersville in the PSAC semifinals last Friday.

Stevenson (11 G, 1 A), sophomore forward Bailey Quinn (8 G, 2 A), senior midfielder Desiraye Mack (7 G, 2 A) and Howell (6 G, 4 A) are ESU's top scorers. Stevenson and Mack joined Howell and senior back Morgan Firestine on the All-PSAC first team.

Junior midfielder Sydney McCarthy (4 G, 3 A), a second team All-PSAC selection, and sophomore midfielder Paige Harrold (2 G, 8 A) also have double-digit points on the season. Harrold's 0.42 assists per game are the third-most in DII.

The Warriors have gained an additional 10 goals from sophomore forward Makenna Marhefka (3 G), sophomore midfielder Karisa Turner (3 G), sophomore forward Kelli Shapiro (2 G, 1 A) and junior midfielder Melanie Shambaugh (2 G, 1 A).

Howell, Firestine and senior goalkeeper Danielle Ard have all played key roles on a defense which ranks third in DII in goals-against average (0.72). Howell was a two-time NFHCA Defensive Athlete of the Week this fall, while Ard is third in the nation in GAA (0.73) and fifth in save percentage (.831).

Sophomore back Ashley Ceschini has also started 17 of 19 games for ESU on the backline, while junior Hannah Caplan (19 starts) and Chioda (18) hold the defensive midfield positions.

Shippensburg leads DII with a 0.43 goals-against average for the season, with the Raiders allowing only nine goals in 20 games overall. Individually, sophomore goalkeeper Ally Mooney is tops in the nation with a 0.39 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

Shippensburg has a balanced offense which is led by a group of forwards in senior Katelyn Grazan (9 G, 2 A), junior Emily Barnard (7 G, 2 A), sophomore Brooke Zeiders (6 G, 3 A) and sophomore Noelle Kephart (6 G, 1 A). The Raiders were 1-3 against ESU and Millersville, losing 2-1 to the Marauders in the PSAC championship game, and 16-0 against every other team on their schedule.

Mooney and senior back Taylor Fisher (six defensive saves) were Shippensburg's representatives on the All-PSAC first team. Barnard, junior midfielder Brooke Sheibley (1 G, 3 A) and senior back Suzanne Muller landed on the second team, while Grazan and junior midfielder Kylie Huffman (3 G, 3 A) were third team selections.

The Warriors defeated West Chester 6-2 in the semifinals and Merrimack 1-0 (OT) in the championship game to claim their first-ever DII title in 2015.