Lady Colonels are the 2013 Freedom Conference Champions

FIELD HOCKEY WINS FREEDOM CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP IN DRAMATIC FASHION, EARNING NCAA TOURNAMENT BERTH

11/9/2013 8:09:00 PM

Box Score

FIELD HOCKEY WINS FREEDOM CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP IN DRAMATIC FASHION, Earning NCAA Tournament Berth

EDWARDSVILLE, PA -- After advancing to the Freedom Conference Championship game for the first time since 2008, the Wilkes University field hockey team defeated Misericordia University 2-1 in overtime on Saturday evening to claim the league title. It's the first title for the field hockey program since they won the MAC in 1999. With the win Wilkes improves to 8-11, while Misericordia concludes their season at 8-13.

The Cougars went up 1-0 just three minutes into the game when Rebecca Hindman finished a cross from Lindsay Hischak into a wide open cage. The Cougars nearly made it 2-0 when Hannah Harvey took a shot that Lady Colonels defender Emily Saliba (Scotrun, PA/Pocono Mountain East) was able to stymie away from the cage. The rest of the half saw a few scoring chances go both ways but neither team was very dangerous and the Cougars went into halftime with a slim 1-0 lead. Wilkes was outshot 6-5 in the half however, they out cornered Misericordia 9-3.

In the second half the Lady Colonels came out on a mission to tie the game at 1-1 as they went on the offense barraging the Cougars backline with multiple shots and corner attempts. The bend don't break style of defense held up early for the Cougars as despite getting outshot and playing in a defensive shell the Lady Colonels were unable to capitalize on any chances. At the 58:21 mark Aliya Frankel (Ventnor, NJ/Holy Spirit) had a shot destined for the back of the cage, but Cougars defender Emily Hegner thought differently as she cleared the ball off the line, as the Cougars clung on to a 1-0 lead. Cougars goalkeeper Angela Pasquini was relied upon time and time again in the second half. Her stellar play kept the Cougars in the match. Wilkes peppered her with 14 shots in the second half and 10 corners; however, going into the 62^nd minute of play they still trailed 1-0. At the 61:05 minute mark the Cougars were called for a penalty stroke. Wilkes senior Ashley Ream (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) stepped up to take the shot and sent it high over Pasquini's left shoulder tying the score at 1-1. Neither team could muster a goal in the waning moments of the second half, as they game headed into overtime.

The Cougars nearly ended the game in the 73^rd minute when Hischak took a shot from the left side that sailed just wide of the cage. After a Wilkes timeout the momentum swung their way and on an ensuing penalty corner Frankel's shot was illegally cleared by a Misericordia defender resulting in another penalty stroke for Wilkes. Senior Ashley Hahn (Bangor, PA/Bangor) had the honors of taking the stroke for the Lady Colonels. She buried her attempt high to Pasquini's right sending the Lady Colonels into a frenzy as they celebrated winning the Freedom Conference Championship.

The Lady Colonels will now wait to find out when and where they will play next week's first round of the Division III Field Hockey Championships. The tournament bracket will be announced Monday.

Senior Ashley Ream (Manheim, PA/Manheim Central) was named Freedom Conference Tournament MVP

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