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Huskies Advance to NCAA Field Hockey Championship Game
LOWELL, MA —The Bloomsburg University field hockey team advanced to the NCAA Division II championship game with a 3-0 win over Shippensburg University Friday night.
The Huskies, 21-2, will face the winner of UMASS-Lowell/Bryant on Sunday at noon for the national title.
Shippensburg held the early advantage in the game pressuring the Huskies, but unable to find the back of the cage. The Huskies' Shanna Fritz (Benton/Benton) had the first shot on goal for the game, but Lady Raider goalie Nora Luchansky made a save. The two teams then battled on near even terms before the Huskies' Kristy Kropa (Tunkhannock/Tunkhannock) scored with one second left before halftime on feed from Sheila Zilinski (Barto/Boyertown) to make it a 1-0 game at halftime.
“I thought Shippensburg played a great first half and that we (Bloomsburg) was sluggish in the first 35 minutes,” said Hutchinson. “In the first half Shippensburg was passing the ball well, they were moving and they were aggressive. I thought we were lucky to get out of the first half without being scored upon.”
In the second half, though, the Huskies used the late first period goal to gain some momentum and quickly added to their lead.
Fritz scored unassisted just 3:26 into the second half of play to take a 2-0 lead. Firtz walked in all alone from the left side, made a nice spin move around Luchansky and scored her 12th goal of the season. A few minutes later, Steph Beck (Orefield/Parkland) scored when she floated a high shot from the center of the circle after a pass from Sheila Zilinski for an insurmountable 3-0 lead.
“The goal we scored at the end of the first half gave us some energy to come out with a strong second half,” Hutchinson said. “We were a totally different team in the final period.”
In goal, the Huskies' Jamie Hartman (Boyertown/Boyertown) picked up her 15th shutout of the year stopping one shot. Luchansky made three saves for the Lady Raiders.
“Bloomsburg has an incredible senior class with experience at the championship level,” said Shippensburg coach Bertie Landis.
The Huskies, 21-2, will face the winner of UMASS-Lowell/Bryant on Sunday for the NCAA Division II title. Bloomsburg will be aiming for its sixth championship in the last eight years. Earlier this season the Huskies beat both Bryant (7-0) and UMASS-Lowell (4-0) in regular season match-ups. The Huskies have not been scored upon in the post-season, outscoring opponents 8-0 in three games.
SCORING
| BU 1st 34:59 Kristy Kropa (Sheila Zilinski) |
| BU 2nd 38:26 Shanna Fritz |
| BU 2nd 42:40 Steph Beck (Sheila Zilinski) |
| BU Jamie Hartman 1 Save 70 minutes |
| SHIP Nora Luchansky 3 Saves 70 minutes |
| BU 12 Ship 11 |
| BU 7 Ship 11 |
