Pioneers Play Host to Blue Devils on Senior Day
4/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 19, 2008
Sacred Heart vs. Central Connecticut Game Notes in PDF Format 
Sacred Heart Pioneers (9-7, 6-1 NEC) vs. Central Connecticut Blue Devils (1-12, 1-6 NEC)
Game #17 - Sunday, April 20, 2008 - 1:00 pm - Fairfield, Conn. - Campus Field (4,000)
Pioneers Play Host to Blue Devils on "Senior Day"... The Pioneers will close out the regular season hosting the Central Connecticut Blue Devils on "Senior Day". A Sacred Heart win will deliver the Pioneers a share of 2008 Northeast Conference regular season championship, a first for the program. SHU has already clinched a spot in next weekend's tournament but they can match their best-ever finish in the NEC with a win as seeding is still at stake. Quinnipiac has posted a 7-1 mark while Monmouth and Sacred Heart sit at 6-1 with a game to play. Mount St. Mary's completes the field with a 4-2 mark.
The Sacred Heart - CCSU Series... Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 8-0. The Pioneers have won every meeting since the 2000 season, four at home and four in New Britain. The Pioneers posted a 17-10 win last season on the road.
Up Next... Sacred Heart moves on to the NEC Tournament next weekend, April 25th and 27th. The site and seeding will be determined after today's games. This will be the Pioneers sixth trip to the conference tournament and their third-straight appearance.
Last Meeting with Central Connecticut... The Sacred Heart Pioneers got four goals and three assists from senior Brianna Bubeck on the way to a 17 10 win at Central Connecticut that clinched a spot in the NEC Tournament in last season's regular season finale. SHU dominated the first half, out shooting Central 23-8 while breaking 14 of the Blue Devil's 16 clear attempts. It was CCSU who struck first and took a 2-1 lead less then three minutes in but it was all Sacred Heart from there. The Pioneers rang off a seven goal run to lead 8-2 and never look back. SHU's lead peaked at 10 in the second half, 17-7, before CCSU closed the game with three-straight to produce the final. SHU held a 40-22 advantage on shots in the game and took the ground ball battle 23-16. In addition to Bubeck's big afternoon, junior Katie Salamone scored four times and added an assist to her final totals. Sophomores Mary Montesarchio and Amanda Williams each scored two goals while Montesarchio assisted on two others. Junior Liz Ottey finished with two scores and three assists in the win.
NEC Playoff Picture... Quinnipiac (7-1), Sacred Heart (6-1), Monmouth (6-1) and Mount St. Mary's (4-2) have clinched NEC Tournament berths.
Quinnipiac can earn the right to host the NEC Tournament with a Mount St. Mary's win over Monmouth or a Sacred Heart loss to CCSU on Sunday. Should Monmouth, Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart all finish with a 7-1 record in NEC outings, the tiebreaker will come down to the team allowing the fewest goals in NEC games. Currently, Monmouth has allowed 50 goals in seven contests and has one game to play against Mount St. Mary's. Quinnipiac has completed play yielding 52 markers. Sacred Heart has also permitted 52 goals with CCSU still on its schedule.
If Sacred Heart loses to CCSU and Monmouth beats Mount St. Mary's, then Monmouth will host the NEC Tournament based on its head-to-head win over Quinnipiac.
If Sacred Heart beats CCSU and Monmouth loses to Mount St. Mary's, then Quinnipiac will host the NEC Tournament based on its head-to-head win over Sacred Heart.
SHU Celebrates its' Seniors... The Pioneers will honor their three graduating seniors along with their parents before Sunday's game. Senior Liz Ottey has appeared in 49 games with 45 starts since transferring to Sacred Heart her sophomore year. Ottey has 111 career points, placing her 11th on Sacred Heart's all-time scoring list. She has 76 career goals and 35 career assists, ranking her 10th and 6th all-time in those categories. She is currently third this season in scoring with 26 goals and 13 assists. Senior Katie Salamone has played in 65 career games with 54 starts. She has 112 career points in her four-year career, ranking 10th on the all-time list. She has 89 career goals ranking 8th all-time to go with 23 assists. This season, she is second on the team with 28 goals, a career-best mark. Senior Alyssa Harris is a two-time captain for the Pioneers and has played in 56 games with 43 starts. She has 41 career points from her midfield position coming on 30 goals and 11 assists. She leads the Pioneers this season with 38 groundballs giving her 89 for her career, a mark that ranks her 12th all-time. She also has 33 career draw controls and 39 career caused turnovers in her four years. Her 14 goals this season marks a career-best mark for Harris.
NEC Stats... The Sacred Heart Pioneers are ranked fourth in the league in goals per game (11.25), third in assists per game (5.38) and fourth in points per game (16.62). SHU is second in shot percentage (.457). The Pioneers have the second ranked defensive unit allowing just 9.44 goals per game. Amanda Williams is seventh in goals per game (2.19). Mary Montesarchio is second in the NEC in assists per game (2.12) and fifth in points per game (3.25). Williams is tied for first with four game-winning goals. Chelsea Wagner is second in goals against average (9.61), saves per game (10.21) and save percentage (.533). Liz Ottey is tied for the NEC lead in 8meter goals, converting 13 (0.81) of 24 attempts.
History... This is the Pioneer's 11th year of competition in the Northeast Conference. Sacred Heart has qualified for the NEC Tournament five times and posts a 95-79 Division I record. The Pioneers have posted 10 wins three times.
