Saint Francis Field Hockey Team Clinches First-Ever Trip To NEC Tournament
LORETTO, Pa. (Oct. 26, 2007) – The Saint Francis field hockey team will play in the cool weather of November for the first time in program history.
The Red Flash traveled to NEC-power Lock Haven for their regular season finale on Friday night needing a win or a Monmouth loss to clinch the school’s first-ever trip to the Northeast Conference Field Hockey Tournament.
The Red Flash suffered a 7-1 defeat against the Bald Eagles without starting goalkeeper Erin Reifsteck (Battle Creek, Mich. / Saint Phillip), but they got some help as Quinnipiac defeated the Hawks 3-1 in Hamden, Conn. A Monmouth win would have forced a three-way tie for the final two NEC playoff spots.
But instead, Saint Francis has earned the fourth and final playoff spot and will face No. 1 seed Lock Haven in a rematch of both teams’ regular season finales. That game will be played at 11 a.m. on Friday in Lock Haven. No. 2 Rider will play No. 3 Sacred Heart at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Red Flash ended the regular season with a 4-12 overall record, and a 4-3 mark in the NEC. Saint Francis had never won more than one game in a season in its six previous years as a program.
The Bald Eagles scored the game’s first three goals before junior Belen Albanes (Atlanta, Ga. / Dunwoody) tallied her school-record 10th goal of the season at 33 minutes, 14 seconds. The goal gave her 21 points on the season, moving her into sole possession of the school’s single-season mark. She was tied with Erin Davis with 19 points, which was originally set in 2005. Albanes now has 34 career points, second on the school’s all-time list behind Davis’ 35. Albanes accrued her 34 career points in just three seasons.
Sophomore Therese Nunnally (El Cajon, Calif. / Univ. of San Diego) tallied her first assist of the season on the goal.
Sophomore Sara Dittmann (State College, Pa. / State College) stopped six shots in the game, which was her first career start. She started in place of Reifsteck, who sat out after receiving a red card in Saint Francis’ last match.