Nov. 5, 2005
NORFOLK, Va. - The top seeded Old Dominion field hockey team will head to the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship finale as they defeated fifth seeded William & Mary, 3-1, in Saturday's first semifinal match-up. The Lady Monarchs, winners of 12 CAA titles, will take second seeded Northeastern at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday at Foreman Field. The Huskies advanced with a 3-2 victory over third seeded Hofstra in the day's other semifinal game.
Semifinal #1 - #1 Old Dominion (3), #5 William & Mary (1)
In the opening game, Old Dominion got goals from a trio of All-CAA honorees to defeat William & Mary 3-1. Player of the Year Janelle Engle (Mt. Joy, Pa.) and fellow first-teamer Dana Sensenig (Denver, Pa.) each scored their eighteenth goals of the season, while All-Rookie member Daphne Admiraal (Heiloo, Holland) chipped in one of her own. Sophomore Kim Hedley netted the Tribe's lone goal.
Sensenig got the Lady Monarchs started early when she gained possession of the ball just outside the circle and weaved her way through the William & Mary defense before pushing it past Tribe goalkeeper Gwen Hunter, who made six saves in the game. About ten minutes later, a William & Mary defender was able to deflect an Engle shot away from the net, but Admiraal was there waiting to put it back in past the recovering Tribe defense.
Early in the second half, Sensenig passed the ball in from a penalty corner to junior Caroline Nichols (Va. Beach, Va.), who set it up for Engle to fire in for the Lady Monarchs' third goal. A few minutes later, Hedley managed to get the Tribe on the board when she put in a rebound of her own shot, but it was too little, too late as Old Dominion held on for the victory.
Senior netminder Mary Cate Gordon (Oreland, Pa.) stopped four shots to earn the win, as the Lady Monarchs improved their record to 16-5. William & Mary finishes the season at 10-11.
Semifinal #2 - #2 Northeastern (3), #3 Hofstra (2)
The second semifinal game between Northeastern and third-seeded Hofstra was an exciting, back-and-forth contest that the Huskies won, 3-2. The teams traded goals in the first half to the tune of 2-2 score at the break.
In the second stanza, Northeatern's Whitney Shean netted her league-leading 19th of the season to clinch the victory and record the tournament's second hat trick. Hofstra's Charlia Warner had three goals in Friday's win over Towson.
A little under nine minutes into the game, the ball was approaching the net as Shean and Hofstra goalkeeper Jessica Cowperthwait raced each other to it. Shean took a diving swing and the ball connected with the back of the net to give the Huskies the early lead. However, just three minutes later following a whistle near the right wing, Hofstra's Pemba Ramdoo knocked in a shot to tie it up.
Northeastern regained the lead on a penalty corner that began with a Shean pass. She then waited next to the cage as Cowperthwait deflected a shot her way, which she poked in for her second of the game. Hofstra had a penalty corner of their own just before the half when Kara McEneaney fired a shot past the oncoming Husky defenders to even the score at two before the break.
Shean's third goal, the game-winner, came midway through the second half when Ashley D'Ambra laced a pass near the right post where the All-CAA first-teamer was positioned. Shean redirected it past Cowperthwait to register the hat trick. Hofstra had some chances in the Northeastern zone as the game winded down but was unable to convert and the Huskies held on for the win.
Colleen Duffy made five saves to lift to NU to a 16-5 record, while Cowperthwait recorded four saves for the Pride, who fall to 13-7.