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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University continues its quest for a second Division II field hockey national championship in the past four years on Thursday afternoon, when the second-seeded Warriors take on No. 3 Pace in a Final Four contest in Pittsburgh at 5 p.m.

No. 1 West Chester and No. 4 Shippensburg square off in the first semifinal at 2 p.m., with Thursday's winners advancing to the national title game at 1 p.m. on Saturday. All three games will be played at the Arthur J. Rooney Athletic Field on the campus of Duquesne University.

ESU (15-4) is in the national tournament for a fourth-straight season, earning Final Four appearances in three of those campaigns. Pace (18-2) was in the midst of its debut field hockey season when the Warriors won the program's lone national championship back in 2015; Thursday will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides.

The Warriors received a first round bye in this year's tournament, while the Setters advanced to Thursday's semifinal with a 6-1 victory over No. 6 Saint Anselm on Sunday afternoon. Pace dominated on the scoreboard despite being outshot 13-9 overall in the contest.

Seven of ESU's 15 victories this season have come against nationally-ranked opponents. This will be the Warriors' fourth game this year against a team from the Northeast 10; ESU topped Merrimack (3-2, OT) and LIU Post (5-0) and dropped a tight 1-0 decision at Stonehill.

Eighteen Warriors have appeared in at least 15 games on the year, and six of those 18 were recognized as All-PSAC performers earlier this month.

Senior forward Bailey Quinn (10 G, 2 A) and senior back Ashley Ceschini (7 G, 4 A) were each first team All-PSAC honorees. Quinn, a second team NFHCA All-American last fall, leads all active Warriors with 67 career points (31 G, 5 A), while Ceschini has thrived in her transition to the center back position this season.

Senior midfielders Kelli Shapiro and Paige Harrold, both second team All-PSAC selections, have also been major contributors throughout the year. Shapiro leads ESU with 33 points (12 G, 9 A), 20 of which came in the final three games of the regular season. Harrold, the lone active player who was part of the 2015 championship team's rotation, has recorded 10+ points in each of her four years at ESU.

All seven of freshman forward Celeste Veenstra's goals in her debut season came during a seven-game span from Sept. 29 – Oct. 20, including game-winners over nationally-ranked Shippensburg and Kutztown. Veenstra, a third team All-PSAC performer, returned to action in ESU's 3-0 PSAC semifinal loss to Shippensburg on Nov. 16 after missing four games due to injury.

Junior back Emily Spangler also landed on the All-PSAC third team after totaling three goals and an assist this fall. Spangler, Ceschini, junior back Briana Sassaman, senior midfielder Karisa Turner and junior midfielder Kristen English have each started all 19 games while providing strong defensive support for junior goalkeeper Maddie Richie.

The Warriors have earned shutouts in 10 of 19 games while outscoring opponents 68-16 overall. Richie enters the Final Four with a 15-4 record, a 0.86 goals-against average and a .738 save percentage in her first season as ESU's primary goalie.

Other contributors on attack include junior midfielder Karly Conway (8 G, 4 A), senior forward Makenna Marhefka (5 G, 3 A), junior forward Grace Martini (3 G, 2 A) and freshman forward Taylor Gramberg (1 G, 2 A). In the midfield, sophomore Lexi Hartmann (2 G), junior Sara Ober (2 A), freshman Hannah Barbush (1 G, 1 A), sophomore Lea Hughes and sophomore Jordyn Wigglesworth have all appeared in at least 17 games this season.

Pace was a perfect 13-0 in Northeast 10 conference play during the regular season this fall. The Setters had a 14-game winning streak from Sept. 18 – Nov. 6 before suffering a 1-0 defeat to Assumption in the NE10 quarterfinals.

Senior forward Halley Rose, who had the first two goals in Sunday's 6-1 win over Saint Anselm, leads Pace with 40 points (17 G, 6 A) in 2018. Freshman goalkeeper Grace Henderson has allowed 14 goals in 20 starts; she leads all Division II goalies with a 0.74 goals-against average.

Pace has not faced a PSAC opponent this season. The PSAC has won 23 of the last 26 DII championships since 1992, including each of the last seven national titles.

ESU is 66-17 (.795 winning percentage) in the past four seasons under 35th year head coach Sandy Miller. This is the 10th NCAA tournament appearance for the Warriors during Miller's tenure.


2018 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Tournament

Sunday, Nov. 25 (First Round)
No. 3 Pace def. No. 6 Saint Anselm, 6-1
No. 4 Shippensburg def. No. 5 Merrimack, 4-1

Thursday, Nov. 29 (Semifinals – at Pittsburgh, Pa.)
No. 1 West Chester (17-2) vs. No. 4 Shippensburg (17-4) – 2 p.m.
No. 2 ESU (15-4) vs. No. 3 Pace (18-2) – 5 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 1 (Final – at Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Semifinal Winners – 1 p.m.