NEWTON, Mass. – Sixth seeded Mount Ida College will travel to Paxton, Massachusetts on Saturday morning to meet # 3 Anna Maria in the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) field hockey quarterfinal, with game time set for 10:00 AM.
HOW THEY GOT THERE
The Mustangs (4-12, 1-5 GNAC) are making their first ever appearance in the GNAC tournament since joining the GNAC in 2014. Mount Ida upended Rivier University back on September 26th by a final score of 3-1 for their first ever GNAC conference win. The AMCATS (12-6, 4-2 GNAC) return to the conference tournament for the second straight season after losing in last year's title game to first time champion Simmons College, 3-1.
Although only a second year program, Head Coach Nicole Poli believes her team is champing at the bit to win their first ever quarterfinal game. Explained Poli, "This is the first time this program has been in this position and I believe that all the hard work that has gone into getting to this point from August until now is going to pay off and the girls are eager to get out there on Saturday."
HEAD TO HEAD
Mount Ida and Anna Maria faced off in Paxton back on September 17th with the AMCATS coming away with the 3-0 shutout of the green and white. Nicole Denver (Springfield, Mass.), scored the eventual game winner in the opening 1:49 of the contest while teammate Kayla Lapierre (Worcester, Mass.) scored the other two markers to give the hosts the GNAC victory. Mount Ida is 0-2 lifetime against Anna Maria after suffering a 6-3 setback during the 2014 campaign in Newton, Mass.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mustang sophomore Lexi Minicucci (Westfield, Mass.) who tallied 11 goals and 3 assists on the season, good for 25 points, will look to be the offensive threat for Mount Ida in Saturday's quarterfinal game. Minicucci has led the Mustangs in scoring the last two seasons and Coach Poli and the coaching staff will be looking to Minicucci to provide some offense. Said Poli, "Lexi is one of the most dynamic players in this conference and when she is on top of her game she is very dangerous, so we are hoping to see her playing at a high level on Saturday."
Alongside Minicucci, the Mustangs will look to freshman Sarah Hemstock (Northford, Conn.) who has provided a lending hand in the Mount Ida attack, recording 7 goals and 3 assists this year in her rookie campaign. Hemstock has been an integral piece in this year's team and will be relied on for not only this weekend's game but in the future as well. Returning sophomore Hayley Napier (Fairhaven, Mass.), third on the team in goals with five, will also factor into the game plan on Saturday and will also be looked upon to bring her leadership to the field. Defenders Emily Salls (Springvale, Me.) and Molly Thompson (Canterbury, Conn.) will look to anchor the Mustang back line with their tenacity and physicality and hope to set the tone early in Saturday's quarterfinal.
The AMCATS have four players this year that have recorded nine or more goals and hope that success will translate onto the field this weekend. Kylie Dalbec (Portland, Me.) is 3rd in the GNAC with 14 goals while Denver is right behind her, 4th in markers with 13. Lapierre is tied for 5th with Minicucci with 11 goals, while Lapierre has recorded 12 assists and 34 points. Kaitlyn Moran (Leicester, Mass.) has notched nine goals of her own in 2015 while padding 10 assists.
KEEPERS
Mount Ida sophomore Emily McConnell (Lowell, Mass.) will be in between the pipes for the Mustangs after starting all 16 regular season games while boasting a 3.85 GAA, a .637 SV%, all while making 109 saves throughout the year.
Anna Maria has two keepers that have played the majority of contests throughout the 2015 season with senior Mary Kate Breen (Londonderry, N.H.) seeing the most action in 1068:21 minutes played while Bryanna Tobin (Deep River, Conn.) has seen action in seven games with one start.
COACH'S TAKE
Coach Poli about this weekend's quarterfinal matchup with Anna Maria:
"We're very excited to be entering the tournament for the first time as a second year program. While our team is young and does not have any playoff experience I am very confident that this team is ready to compete. We have a hard working group of freshman and determined returners. Lexi being our top scorer and Emily Salls being a force in the back and captain for our team have showed just how excited they are to get another chance at Anna Maria on Saturday morning."
HOW TO WATCH
Saturday's quarterfinal matchup will have a live video feed and live stats and you can watch the game online and follow all stats at the following links.
Video: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/mountida/
Live Stats: http://www.mountidamustangs.com/sports/fh/2015-16/boxscores/20151031_x3kr.xml