EAST STROUDSBURG - The fourth-ranked East Stroudsburg University field hockey team is set to host Bentley in an NCAA Division II First Round showdown on Saturday at Whitenight Field beginning at 1 p.m.
The Warriors (15-4) will square off against seventh-ranked Bentley (14-5) with the opportunity to move on to the semifinals, which are held on Friday, Nov. 19 at Biemesderfer Stadium in Millersville.
The winner will face top-seed and undefeated Shippensburg with a chance to advance to the NCAA DII Field Hockey Championships on Sunday, Nov. 21.
TICKET / PARKING INFORMATION
Adults - $10
Student & Senior Citizens - $5
Children (12 & Under) - $2
There will be no charge for parking around Whitenight Field.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
- ESU punched their ticket to the NCAA DII Tournament for the sixth consecutive season after finishing the year 15-4 overall and 9-1 in the PSAC
- After securing the two seed in the PSAC Tournament, the Warriors fell to second-ranked West Chester, 2-0
- The Warriors had five players earn All-PSAC selections which included, senior Hannah Barbush (First-Team), senior Celeste Veenstra (First-Team), senior Morgan Mesenbrink (Second-Team), Lia Parker (Second-Team) and junior Nicole Krozser (Third-Team)
- Veenstra leads the Warriors with 22 points on a team-high 10 goals and two assists
- Barbush posted a team-high eight assists and four defensive saves
- Sophomore Amy Supey (15-4) has a .84 goals against average and a .773 save percentage. Supey had four shutouts and didn’t allow a goal over 286:54 minutes during a six-game stretch.
- Saturday’s matchup will be the third NCAA Tournament game to be held at Whitenight Field
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
- Bentley closed out the regular season with a nine-game winning streak to finish 14-4 overall before falling to New Haven in a shootout in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference championships
- Bentley received its first NCAA bid since 2012 and 15th all-time
- Ava Bevilacqua leads the Falcons in scoring with 10 goals, along with three assists
- Sam Simione has made seven defensive saves, a total that ranks number one national in DII
- Goalkeepers Madison Clark (.83 GAA) and Mia Trottie (1.68 GAA) have started 12 and seven games respectfully
SERIES HISTORY
This is the ninth meeting between the Warriors and Falcons in a series that dates back to 1996. Bentley holds the advantage in the all-time series at 6-2, which includes winning the last five matchups.
The teams have met twice in postseason play, the first being a 1-0 win for the Warriors in the 1996 ECAC Playoffs. Bentley got their revenge during the 2001 season with a 4-2 victory to claim the NCAA Division II national championship for the first time in program history.
Saturday’s game will be the first time the teams have squared since the 2002 regular season.
