The Dartmouth field hockey team accepted a bid yesterday to be the top seed in the East Coast Athletic Conference Tournament that begins Saturday at Quinnipiac College. For a team that did not reach postseason play last season, the news could not be any sweeter.
"The team is very excited to make ECAC's and to be chosen the number one seed," co-Captain Lauren Scopaz '00 said. "It's really a great honor and a well deserved one."
The Big Green earned its seeding with its 12-5 overall record and 5-2 Ivy League record during the regular season. Most importantly, Dartmouth finished its season in impressive fashion.
"We put ourselves in a great position for postseason play and for a high ranking in ECAC's by winning our last three games of the season and with our overall solid play all season," Scopaz said.
Dartmouth's will take on fourth-seeded Quinnipiac (10-9, 7-1 Northeast Conference) at 11 a.m. while the second-seeded Harvard Crimson (11-6) will meet the third-seeded Drexel Dragons (11-9) at 2 p.m. in the other semifinal. The winners will meet at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
Dartmouth defeated Harvard 2-1 in Cambridge earlier this season, while Drexel set a school record for victories this season in posting its first winning season since 1992.
But, first the Big Green must get by Quinnipiac who captured the first-ever Northeast Conference title with a 1-0 victory over Monmouth.
The Braves are led by their netminder Sarah Mathers, who was the 1999 NEC Player of the Year as she led the league with a 2.08 goals against average and a .812 save percentage.
Offensively, the Braves are sparked by junior Catie Canetti who led the NEC in scoring with 31 points (12 goals, 7 assists). Classmate Heather Cady was second with 24 points (11 goals, 2 assists).
