STANDISH, ME - The Saint Joseph's College Field Hockey team has earned the top seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Monks posted a 7-0 record against conference opponents and are 14-3 overall heading into the tourney. As the top seed, St. Joe's has a first round bye and will host a semifinal contest on Wednesday, November 4th.
Defending champion Castleton State (8-9, 6-1 NAC) is the #2 seed, while #3 University of Maine-Farmington (8-7, 5-2), #4 Husson (5-7, 4-3), #5 Lasell (7-10, 3-4) and #6 Thomas (4-12, 2-5) also gained entry into the tourney. Castleton topped Saint Joseph's, 4-3 in overtime, in last year's title matchup.
In the quarterfinal round on Saturday, October 31st, UMF will host Thomas and Husson is set to host Lasell. In the semifinals on Wednesday, November 4th, the UMF/Thomas winner will make the trip to Castleton, VT to take on the Spartans, while the Husson/Lasell victor will face off against the Monks (time TBD).
St. Joe's enters the playoffs leading the conference in virtually every statistical category, including scoring (59 goals) and goals-against average (1.34). The top two individual scorers in the NAC, Julia Ostrowski '10 (Albany, NY) (17G-7A-41PTS) and Kayla Nowell '11 (Bridgton, ME) (15G-9A-39PTS), play for the Monks and SJC keeper Meaghan Johnson'12 (Portland, ME/Cheverus) leads the NAC in goals-against average (1.34) and shutouts (4). Ace defender Kim Glynn '10 (Danvers, MA) ranks first in the conference with nine defensive saves.
The top six teams qualify for the NAC Championship. Predetermined tiebreaking procedures were used to seed teams with identical conference winning percentages. First round games will be played on Saturday, October 31 at the higher seed. Winners will advance to the semifinals held at the higher seed on Wednesday, November 4. Semifinal winners will meet Saturday, November 7 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.
