Sacred Heart and Monmouth Face-off in NEC Tournament Semifinals
4/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 24, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
2008 Northeast Conference Tournament
#2 Sacred Heart Pioneers (10-7, 7-1 NEC) vs. #3 Monmouth Hawks (13-4, 7-1 NEC)
Game #18 - Friday, April 25, 2008 - Hamden, Conn. - Quinnipiac Lacrosse Field
Pioneers Open Playoff Run Facing Monmouth... The Sacred Heart Pioneers claimed a share of their first-ever Northeast Conference regular season title with a 7-1 record and will take on the Monmouth Hawks in the league tournament opening round looking to make a run at their first-ever league championship and NCAA Tournament berth. The Pioneers will take on the Hawks for the third-straight season in the tournament, falling to MU last season in the semifinals and losing the title game in 2006. Sacred Heart, Monmouth and Quinnipiac all tied for the first place with 7-1 marks with the Bobcats winning the tie breaker for hosting rights. SHU's 7-1 NEC record ties their best-finish from two years ago.
The Sacred Heart - MU Series... Monmouth leads the all-time series, 12-2. Sacred Heart snapped a Monmouth six-game winning streak in the series with a 12-9 win at home back in March. The Hawks have knocked the Pioneers out of the NEC Tournament the last two last seasons. The Hawks won the first meeting, 15-11, in 1997 and then rattled off six-straight in the series before SHU collected their only other win in 2003, a 15-13 win at home.
NEC Tournament History... This is Sacred Heart's seventh trip to the Northeast Conference Tournament. The Pioneers are making their third-straight appearance entering this year's tournament as the #2 seed. SHU was the #3 seed in last year's tournament and fell to the #2 seed Monmouth in the semifinal round, 15-13, at Mount St. Mary's. SHU was the #2 seed in the 2006 tournament and picked up their first-ever playoff win, beating Quinnipiac, 12-9 to advance to the championship game. The Pioneers fell to Monmouth, 10-5, in the title game. Prior to their run in 2006, the Pioneers were 0-4 in the tournament all as the #4 seed, losing three times to UMBC and once to Mount St. Mary's. In 2004, SHU fell to the Mount, 6-5. In 2002, SHU lost to UMBC 16-4 and in 2000 they fell to the Retrievers 14-8. The Pioneers first tournament trip came in 1999 when they lost to UMBC, 19-6.
Last Meeting with Monmouth... Sacred Heart got three goals apiece from senior Liz Ottey and sophomore Carissa Hauser on the way to a 12-9 win over Monmouth in March in the NEC opener for both schools. The Pioneers built a 7-3 lead at the half and were helped by 12 saves from sophomore goalie Chelsea Wagner as they snap a six-game losing streak to the Hawks in the all-time series. The shots were even on the afternoon, each team firing off 27 while the Pioneers held a 14-9 edge on draws. SHU did turn the ball over 19 times and clear just 14-of-20 chances but solid goal keeping and stingy defense ruled the day. Junior Mary Montesarchio passed out four assists in the win. For Monmouth, Megan Brennan scored three goals while goalkeeper Monica Johnson had eight saves.
NEC Stats... The Sacred Heart Pioneers are ranked fourth in the league in goals per game (11.59), third in assists per game (5.71) and fourth in points per game (17.29). SHU is second in shot percentage (.459). The Pioneers have the top-ranked defensive unit allowing just 8.94 goals per game. Amanda Williams is fifth in goals per game (2.29). Mary Montesarchio is tied for first in the NEC in assists per game (2.12) and is fourth in points per game (3.29). Williams is tied for first with four game-winning goals. Carissa Hauser is seventh in goals per game (2.22) and sixth in points per game (3.11). Chelsea Wagner leads the league in save percentage (.539), is second in goals against average (9.12) and is fourth in saves per game (9.82). Liz Ottey is tied for the NEC lead in 8meter goals, converting 13 (0.76) of 25 attempts. She is 10th in assists per game (1.00).
Balanced Attack... The Pioneer's offense boasts nine double digit scorers including six who have 20 or more goals on the year. SHU's attack averages 11.59 goals per game, 14.12 per game in conference play. Junior Amanda Williams paces the attack with 39 goals followed by senior Katie Salamone with 31 and senior Liz Ottey with 27. Sophomore Carissa Hauser has 20 goals but in only nine games played, missing time this season with foot and knee injuries.
Stingy Defense... Sacred Heart's defense has risen to the NEC's top defensive unit in the league, allowing 8.94 goals per game and just 6.62 in NEC play. Anchoring the unit is goalkeeper Chelsea Wagner who leads the league in save percentage. Sophomore Jackie Pierce is tied for fifth in the NEC with 24 caused turnovers (1.41). She also has 27 ground balls. Senior Alyssa Harris leads the team with 43 grounders. Erika Spadafora, Farra Coppola and rookie Elizabeth Drehwing round out the SHU defense.
Solid Rookie Play... Freshman Jessica Ingrilli took home two NEC Rookie of the Week awards this year, making contributions on both offense and defense. Ingrilli posted 21 goals with three assists on attack and was second on the team with 37 ground balls to go with 20 caused turnovers.
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 96-79 Division I record. The Pioneers have posted 10 wins three times.
