Bloomsburg Lacrosse Takes on Lock Haven in PSAC Semi-Finals
BLOOMSBURG -- The Bloomsburg University lacrosse team will begin play in the 2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoffs on Tuesday when the Huskies travel to Lock Haven to face the Lady Eagles at 4:00 p.m. Bloomsburg comes into the playoffs as the third seed while Lock Haven is seeded second.
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Top-seeded West Chester will host fourth-seeded Shippensburg in the other semi-final match-up. The winners of the two semi-finals will meet on Saturday, May 5, at the highest remaining seeded team for the PSAC championship.
Bloomsburg finished the regular season 9-7, 9-5 in the PSAC under first year head Coach Leah Quigley. The Huskies have lost both match-ups with Lock Haven this season. In the first game, Bloomsburg fell 21-7 while in their second meeting, the Huskies lost 21-10.
Leading the way for Bloomsburg this season has been a trio of underclassmen: Kelsey Quigley (Lansdale/Methacton), Cali Toms (Pottstown/Pottsgrove) and Angie Picciotti (Chalfont/Central Bucks West). Quigley, a sophomore, finished the regular season as the team's leading scorer with 29 goals and 10 assists for 39 points while Toms, a junior, was second on the team in goals with 27. Picciotti who is a junior, has been a threat on both offense and defense for Bloomsburg this year. She is fourth on the team in scoring with 30 points (25 goals, 5 assists), is tied for the team lead with 35 caused turnovers and ranks second in ground balls with 41.
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Another consistent offensive threat for the Huskies is senior Meg Taylor (West Chester/West Chester) who finished the year second on the team in points with 23 goals and a team-leading 15 assists. Taylor has scored a point in 14 of the Huskies 16 games this season, including a streak of 14 straight. Freshman Kimberly Springman (Downingtown/Bishop Shanahan) and senior Allison McFatridge (Hatboro/Upper Moreland) have also contributed for the Huskies. In her first season as a Husky, Springman has racked up 21 goals and seven assists for 28 points, while McFatridge capped her career at Bloomsburg with 14 points including the game-winning goal in overtime against Shippensburg that clinched a playoff spot.
On defense, the Huskies are led by seniors Brittany Wilkins (Barto/Boyertown) and Alex Totino (Port Jefferson Station, NY/Sachem). Wilkins leads the team with 45 ground balls and is second in caused turnovers with 33 while Totino has 29 ground balls and a team-leading 35 caused turnovers. Sophomore Andrea Schweitzer (Pine Island, NY/Vernon Township) has also played great defense this season, causing 26 turnovers and recording 35 ground balls.
In goal for Bloomsburg, junior Bridget Maenner (Philadelphia/Little Flower) has a goals against average of 10.00 and has recorded 119 saves.
Lock Haven, 15-2, 12-2 in the PSAC, is ranked fourth nationally in Division II. The Lady Eagles are led by two 50 goal scorers in Jessica Blickenstaff and Jenna Richter. Blickenstaff finished the regular season with 56 goals and 39 assists for 95 points while Richter has 84 points on 52 goals and 32 assists.
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The Lady Eagles have two solid goalkeepers in Kira Nuttall and Melissa Seesz. Nuttall in 7-2 on the season with a 9.70 goals against average and 84 saves. Seesz has a perfect 6-0 record with a goals against average of only 6.17 and has 70 saves.
Although the Lady Eagles have already defeated the Huskies twice this season, Coach Quigley is optimistic about her team's chance. "Lock Haven is a great team, but we always thought we could compete against them and tomorrow will be no different," says Quigley.
For the Huskies, the key to victory will be for the team to avoid mental errors. "Our game plan is the same; we believe the players understand what is expected of them. What we need to do is to eliminate mental errors and turnovers and stay true to our game plan," added Quigley.
Bloomsburg has previously won the PSAC lacrosse championship in 1991, 2000 and 2003 and is returning to the playoffs after failing to qualify last season.
Tickets for the game at Lock Haven are $7 for adults and senior citizens and $2 for students. All students with a valid PSAC conference school ID will be admitted free of charge. In addition, parking with be $2.
