Castleton Wins NAC Field Hockey Title in High-Scoring Affair
Castleton Wins NAC Field Hockey Title in High-Scoring Affair
BANGOR, Maine - Second-seeded Castleton raced out to an early
five-goal lead and withstood a furious comeback from number-one
Husson en route to an 8-6 win the North Atlantic Conference (NAC)
Field Hockey Final.
The Spartans seemed to have an answer every time Husson tried to
mount a serious comeback, and never let the lead slip below two
goals in the second half in earning the program's first NAC
Championship since 2008. The win also earns the team an automatic
bid into the NCAA Tournament, which begins next Wednesday.
Junior Rachel Preusser (Craryville, N.Y.) led the offense with a
hat trick while Kealy Chipman (Bellows Falls, Vt.) and Blake
Wardwell (Bridgewater, Vt.) each contributed two goals and one
assist.
The Spartans opened the scoring just 48 seconds into the contest
with Blake Wardwell scoring off a pass from Preusser. Chipman made
2-0 at the 10:37 mark with an assist from Wardwell. Preusser scored
her first goal just under two minutes later off a pass from Kristy
Pinkham (Brandon, Vt.).
Chipman pushed the Castleton advantage to 4-0 at 15:25, ripping
a shot that deflected off a defender's stick and went into the
upper corner of the net. Wardwell concluded the first-half scoring
on a penalty stroke with just over a minute left in the period.
In the second half, Husson mounted a serious comeback attempt,
as Sabrina Vaillancourt (Newport, Maine) scored three straight
goals over the first 20 minutes of the half to cut the Spartan lead
to 5-3.
Preusser ended the run at the 55:58 mark, though the Eagles'Liz
Noddin (Skowhegan, Maine) scored with just eight minutes left in
regulation to make it a two-goal game once again., 6-4.
Junior Shawna Pinsonault (Brownsville, Vt.) pushed the lead back
to three, 7-4, at 63:54, but Vaillancourt countered with a goal at
65:46 to keep Husson's hopes alive.
Just 22 seconds later Preusser netted her hat trick to give
Castleton an 8-5 advantage. Vaillancourt responded with just 20
seconds left, but it was too little too late as the Spartans
finished with the 8-6 victory.
Vaillancourt scored a game-high five goals for Husson in the
loss while Maicee Gustin (Dexter, Maine) made six saves in net for
the Eagles.
Sophomore Jessica Galatioto (Queensbury, N.Y.) made nine saves
in the cage as the Spartans improve to a program-record 17-4.
Castleton now has to wait until Tuesday, Nov. 6 to find out its
opponent in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
All-Tournament Team
Annie Agnew, Farmington
Lily Barry, Farmington
Katherine Rich. NEC
Rachel Carnaroli, NEC
Liz Noddin, Husson
Sabrina Vaillancourt, Husson
Mariah Arno, Husson
Mercedes Maltbie, Castleton
Kealy Chipman, Castleton
Madyson Martin, Castleton
Shannon Burns, Castleton
Stephanie Bardell, Castleton - MVP
October 31, 2012
|
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 27 at Higher
Seed
|
|
|
(8) Lasell
|
0
|
(1) Husson
|
5 RECAP |
|
(7) Thomas
|
1
|
(2) Castleton
|
5 RECAP |
|
(6) Simmons
|
1
|
(3) Me.-Farmington
|
6 RECAP |
|
(5) St. Joseph's (Me.)
|
1
|
(4) New England College
|
2 RECAP |
|
Semifinals – Wednesday, October 31 at Higher
Seed
|
|
New England Coll.
|
3
|
Husson
|
4 (OT) RECAP |
|
Me.-Farmington
|
1
|
Castleton
|
7 RECAP |
|
Finals – Saturday, November 3 at Higher
Seed
|
|
Castleton
|
vs
|
Husson
|
|
October 27, 2012
|
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 27 at Higher
Seed
|
|
|
(8) Lasell
|
0
|
(1) Husson
|
5 RECAP |
|
(7) Thomas
|
1
|
(2) Castleton
|
5 RECAP |
|
(6) Simmons
|
1
|
(3) Me.-Farmington
|
6 RECAP |
|
(5) St. Joseph's (Me.)
|
1
|
(4) New England College
|
2 RECAP |
|
Semifinals – Wednesday, October 31 at Higher
Seed
|
|
New England Coll.
|
vs
|
Husson
|
|
|
Me.-Farmington
|
vs
|
Castleton
|
|
|
Finals – Saturday, November 3 at Higher
Seed
|
|
Semifinal Winners
|
October 23, 2012
Three-time defending champion Husson University (10-7, 8-1) has
earned the top seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference (NAC)
Field Hockey Tournament.
The Eagles handed Castleton its first regular season conference
loss since 2010, earning the right to host eighth-seeded Lasell on
Saturday, October 27.
Castleton (14-3, 8-1) will take the second seed into Saturday's
quarterfinal versus number-seven Thomas. Third-seeded University of
Maine at Farmington (7-7, 7-2) will host sixth-seeded Simmons,
while number-four New England College will welcome the fifth seed,
St. Joseph's (Me.).
The top eight teams qualify for the NAC Championship.
Predetermined tiebreaking procedures were used to seed teams with
identical conference winning percentages.
Quarterfinal round games will be played on Saturday, October 27
at the higher seed. Winners will advance to the semifinal round
held at the higher seed on Wednesday, October 31. Semifinal winners
will meet Saturday, November 3 at the highest remaining seed.
Game times and dates are subject to change. The NAC Champion
receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III
Championship.
Championship Bracket
|
Quarterfinals – Saturday, October 27 at Higher
Seed
|
|
|
(8) Lasell
|
at
|
(1) Husson
|
|
|
(7) Thomas
|
at
|
(2) Castleton
|
|
|
(6) Simmons
|
at
|
(3) Me.-Farmington
|
|
|
(5) St. Joseph's (Me.)
|
at
|
(4) New England College
|
|
|
Semifinals – Wednesday, October 31 at Higher
Seed
|
|
New England Coll./St. Joseph's
|
vs
|
Lasell/Husson
|
|
|
Simmons/Me.-Farmington
|
vs
|
Thomas/Castleton
|
|
|
Finals – Saturday, November 3 at Higher
Seed
|
|
Semifinal Winners
|