Box Score
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Kristin Arnold came up with the most important save of her career in the final round of penalty strokes, lifting West Chester University into the NCAA Division II Field Hockey National Championship Game while capturing the school’s first South Region title.
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference powerhouses, West Chester and Bloomsburg, played to a 2-2 draw through 100 minutes of field hockey on a very windy and cold Friday afternoon. However, visiting West Chester (16-4) earned the right to advance to the title game with a 3-2 edge in penalty strokes against Bloomsburg (19-1).
The Rams are awarded a “team” goal for the shootout win and the game goes down in the books as a 3-2 victory.
West Chester will take on UMass-Lowell in the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Sports Stadium on the campus of Bloomsburg University. The River Hawks defeated Merrimack, 3-1, in the other semifinal on Friday.
Arnold stood her ground on a shot up the middle by Bloomsburg’s Cassie DiSabatino in the final round of the penalty strokes to backstop West Chester to the national championship game. Michele Schrift scored on her attempt in round four to give the Golden Rams a 3-1 edge. Brittany Mathews pulled the Huskies to within one with a conversion in BU’s half.
Alisha Moran then missed her opportunity at the beginning of the fifth round, opening the door for Bloomsburg. However, Arnold quickly shut that door with a save on DiSabatino. The junior keeper didn’t have to guess which side the Huskies’ player was going. She swatted the attempt away with her blocker.
The Golden Rams advance to their first national championship game in their first year at Division II since re-classifying from Division I. West Chester did win four consecutive Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national titles in the 1970s before the NCAA sponsored a field hockey championship , or split its membership into three different divisions.
Bloomsburg opened the scoring in the 27th minute when Mathews beat Arnold to the right corner, after collecting a pass from Sandy Anceravage. However, West Chester answered back with a pair of goals 1:41 apart in the final five minutes of the first half.
Kayla Gluchowski potted her team-leading 13th goal of the season when she slapped the ball into the cage off a deflection. Schrift, who finished with a goal and an assist in the semifinal, picked up the helper on Gluchowski’s marker by playing the ball into the circle.
Schrift quickly put the Golden Rams on top, 2-1, when she deflected a high shot from Carley Buckwalter past Hollenbach, who has a tendency to play out high in the circle.
Jenna DiSabatino then tied the game when she lifted a shot from the top of the circle over everybody’s head and into the far top left corner of the goal in the 47th minute. That is how the game remained until the strokes.
Each team had its opportunities in the overtime. West Chester outshot Bloomsburg, 8-4, in the first 15-minute session. The Huskies outshot the Rams, 7-4, in the second OT.
West Chester held a 27-21 advantage on shots overall and a 19-8 advantage on penalty corners. Hollenbach was the star for the Huskies, making 12 saves in the loss. Without her, Bloomsburg would not have gone to overtime or strokes. Arnold (15-4-1) was credited with three saves.
Brynn Adams made two defensive saves while Nancy Stehman and Schrift each made one. Schrift finished with three points (1G, 1A), one defensive save and collected the clinching goal in the strokes.
The championship game is a rematch of a game played on Sept. 3 in Waltham, Mass., on the campus of Bentley College. West Chester scored twice in the final 10 minutes to force overtime and then tallied the game-winner in the first two minutes of OT to come from behind and stun UMass-Lowell, 4-3, ending the Hawks’ 24-game winning streak.
