Mansfield University Athletics issued the following announcement on Oct. 26.
Down to their final two contests of the regular season, the Mansfield University field hockey team needs a victory to keep their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) playoff dreams alive as they travel to Bloomsburg University on Wednesday, Oct. 27 for a 4 p.m. game.
The Mountaineers (8-8, 3-5 PSAC) are in a three-way battle with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (10-5, 3-5 PSAC) and Slippery Rock University (6-8, 3-5 PSAC) for the sixth and final postseason spot of the PSAC Championship Tournament.
All three teams have a win in the series, with the Mounties downing IUP, IUP defeating Slippery Rock and Slippery Rock downing Mansfield.
The Mountaineers are looking to rebound from back-to-loses at the hands of Kutztown University and No. 3 Millersville University. MU was carrying a five-game winning streak before dropping a pair.
INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS
In her first collegiate season, sophomore defender Riley Kleinfelter is leading the nation in defensive saves with seven, one ahead of Limestone's Chelsea Cangro. The duo has been trading spots over the past few weeks in search of an NCAA DII Statistical Championship. The Mountaineers won of pair of NCAA DII Statistical Championships in 2017 as standout All-Decade goalkeeper Brittany Ryan '20 earned the highest save percentage with a .874, while the team earned the same award finishing the season at .883.
Junior Alex Esterling ranks fourth in the conference and tied for 15th in the nation with 12 goals and an average of .75 goals per game. Esterling has been on a tear in October, scoring have her goals and racking up 14 points.
Sophomore August Lewis has carried the long tradition of outstanding Mountaineer goalkeeper play into 2021, currently ranking second in the PSAC in save percentage (.814), third in saves per game (6.00) and third in saves (96).
Sophomores Saramae Radel and Hannah Meyer are tied for the team-lead in assists with four, while Radel adds six goals for 16 points, while Meyer has scored twice. Meyer also has three defensive saves, which is tied for second behind Kleinfelter in the PSAC.
PSAC TIEBREAKERS
Information provided by psacsports.org.
3. CHAMPIONSHIP PROCEDURES
3.1 TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Based on win-loss record in mandated conference play, the top six teams at the
end of the regular season shall qualify for the PSAC Tournament. The Tournament shall be conducted under
FIH rules with NCAA modifications.
3.1.1 Seeding: The determination of seeding for the Tournament is based on win/loss record utilizing
the conference mandated schedule. The following criteria shall be used in order to break any tie(s) in
the seeding process for the Tournament:
a. Head-to-head competition in the mandated schedule among the tied teams.
b. Record against PSAC opponents not involved in the tie, working from highest to lowest
ranked in the established standings.
c. Weighted wins against PSAC opponents in the mandated schedule, giving the following
descending credit for: regulation time wins (4 pts.); 1st overtime wins (3 pts.); 2nd overtime wins
(2 pts.); shoot-out wins (1 pt.)
d. Weighted wins between tied teams
e. Road wins in PSAC mandated schedule
f. Win/Loss percentage against mutual opponents outside PSAC mandated contests
g. Highest ranked team based on NCAA regional ranking system
NOTES: If there are ties for more than one place, the highest seeds are determined first before
breaking ties for lower seeds. | In the process of breaking the tie among multiple teams, each
tiebreaker step will be calculated until at least one team is awarded a higher seed OR at least one team
is eliminated from the tiebreaker. At that point, remaining ties shall be broken by restarting the
tiebreaker process with the first step.
MEET THE HUSKIES
Record: 7-9, 1-7 PSAC
Last Time Out: L, 2-3 at Slippery Rock
Last Five: 0-5
At Home: 4-3
All-Time vs. MU: 37-3-1
Head Coach: Nikki Hartranft (11th season, Bloomsburg, '04)
The Huskies downed the Mounties, 3-2 in a shootout earlier this season on Sept. 16 to earn their first PSAC victory.
Alicia Carr enters Wednesday as the Huskies' point leader with eight goals and one assist, totaling 17 points. Arden Morgans is second on the squad with four goals, while Kristen Robinson leads BU with four assists.
Carr and Meghan Longenhagen scored the regulation goals for Bloomsburg in their early-season win over the Mounties.
In cage, Abby Shaffer has started all 16 games, totaling 82 saves and two shutouts in 962 minutes.
The Huskies are dominating the all-time series against MU, 37-3-1. However, the Mounties took the last meeting in 2019 by a score of 4-3 in Mansfield to earnt he programs first post season trip in almost a decade.
The Mounties are seeking their second all-time victory over the Huskies on the road.
Original source can be found here.
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