NOVEMBER 3, 2007
KING'S FIELD HOCKEY DOWNS FDU-FLORHAM 2-0 TO CLAIM
SECOND STRAIGHT FREEDOM CONFERENCE TITLE
(Kari Leach Named Tournament Most Valuable Player)
WILKES-BARRE -- The King's College field hockey
team broke open a scoreless game with a pair of second-half goals as the
Lady Monarchs won their second straight Freedom Conference championship
with a 2-10 victory over visiting FDU-Florham Saturday at Betzler
Fields.
With the win, King's improved to 15-4 on the year and secured an
automatic berth into the NCAA Division III for the second consecutive
year. FDU, meanwhile, fell to 14-7 and will hope to receive an ECAC
tournament berth.
After
the teams played to a 0-0 tie in the first half, King's would strike
first during a penalty corner when junior Jackie Snover (Great
Meadows, NJ/Hackettstown) drilled a shot on goal, but Lady Monarch
senior Debbie Wychock (Wilkes-Barre/Coughlin), pictured right,
redirected the ball past Devil goal keeper Jamie SanFilippo
(Succasunna, NJ/Roxbury) just 0:51 into the second stanza.
The score would remain the same until Megan Farrell (Clarks
Summit/Abington Heights) scored off a short cross in front of the
net from Sarah McGrady (Plymouth/Nanticoke Area) to give the Lady
Monarchs a 2-0 lead with 7:18 remaining in the contest.
The King's defense would hold strong over the final minutes as the Lady
Monarchs registered back-to-back championships.
FDU-Florham would own a 10-6 advantage in shots while leading 12-4 in
penalty corners.
The
Devils, however, were unable to put the ball by King's junior goalie
Kari Leach (Milford/Delaware Valley) who was named the most valuable
player of the Freedom Conference Tournament, stopping 10 Devils shots on
the day. She added seven more in King's 2-1 semi-final victory over
DeSales on Wednesday to finish the tournament with 17 saves while
allowing just one goal. SanFilippo posted four saves for FDU-Florham.
"I am very proud of the way our players came together today and they
gave an outstanding effort," King's coach Cheryl Ish stated. "It was a
tremendous team effort from the very beginning. Our defense was
especially good in denying FDU a lot of quality chances. The shots they
had were challenged and we were able to then get the ball out of harms
way when we had to. It is a great accomplishment for our program to win
the Freedom Conference title for the second straight year and reach the
conference title game for the third year in a row. I am especially happy
for our seniors who can go out with another championship and national
tournament berth under their belts."
King's will now await word of its NCAA Division III Tournament destiny
when the field of teams are announced Monday.
The Lady Monarchs with their 2007 Freedom Conference championship plaque
King's V.P. for Student Affairs Janet Mercincavage
presents team captains
(L-R) Sarah McGrady, Grace King, and Ave' Moran with championship
plaque.
Janet Mercincavage (L) and coach Cheryl Ish flank tournament MVP Kari
Leach.
