ECAC MID-ATLANTIC TOURNAMENT
Montclair , NJ (11/5/07) – The Montclair State field hockey season was extended on Monday as the Red Hawks were tabbed as the No. 4 seed in the ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Championship. MSU will host No. 5 seed Drew University in an opening round matchup at Sprague Field on Wednesday, November 8 beginning at 7:00 pm.
William Paterson University was chosen as the top seed for the tournament and will take on eighth-seeded Catholic University in one of the four opening-round contests on Wednesday. Nazareth College, the No. 2 seed, will meet sixth-seeded FDU-Florham and third-seeded Washington and Jefferson battles No. 6 seed Stevens. The tournament shifts to a Final Four format at the site of the highest remaining seed with semifinal action on Saturday, November 10 and the championship game slated for Sunday, November 11.
Last year, Montclair State knocked off Johns Hopkins, 3-2 at Sprague Field to claim its third ECAC Mid-Atlantic Championship. The Red Hawks also won titles in 1990 and 2001.
Montclair is currently 12-6 overall and finished 3-3 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. MSU began the year at 8-0 before losing four of its next five games, including contests to NCAA-bound teams Rowan and The College of New Jersey. Of Montclair’s six losses this season, four have been to NCAA Tournament teams. Sophomore Megan Pietrunti (Middletown, NJ / Red Bank Catholic) currently leads the Red Hawks in scoring with 11 goals and 28 points while senior Jennifer Tanis (Oak Ridge, NJ / Jefferson), MSU’s all-time leading scorer, has 10 goals and 26 points.
Drew is currently 11-8 this season, falling to eventual champion Juniata in the semifinals of the inaugural Landmark Conference Tournament. Five Rangers were selected to the Landmark All-Conference teams in recognition of Drew’s third place finish. Three of those players, Delia Barr, Nicole Gagliardi and Lizz Law, were named to the Landmark first team while two more, Nicole DiBattista and Jen Schoepflin, earned second team honors.
This will be the second meeting between Montclair State and Drew as the Red Hawks posted a 4-2 win over the Rangers at Sprague Field on October 8. The victory at the time snapped a three-game losing streak for MSU. This will also be the second meeting between the two in the ECAC Tournament as Montclair registered a 2-1 overtime win in the semifinals at Catholic University in 2000. The next day, MSU downed the host Cardinals, 1-0 to win the crown. Drew holds the edge in the series between the teams 12-11, but Montclair State has trimmed that margin of late with wins in each of the last 10 contests.
Montclair State is making its eighth overall appearance in the ECAC Championship reaching the championship game four times. MSU lost in the 2000 title game in addition to its three championships.
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