The NCAA News - News & Features

Division II

Top two teams have lock on final

Overview: Fans may as well pencil in defending champion Lock Haven and Bloomsburg for this one-game event. On second thought, a permanent magic marker might be more appropriate. Since 1982, the Eagles and Huskies have been meeting annually to decide the division title .... Going into this season's home stretch, Bloomsburg was 14-1 and ranked atop the Northern region. Included in those wins was a 2-0 victory over Lock Haven October 5 that was followed by the Huskies' only loss -- a 2-1 setback to unranked Division III opponent Montclair State. "We were getting complacent and overconfident," said Jan Hutchinson, who coached the Huskies to Division II championships in 1983 and 1993 (and Division III titles in 1984 and 1987). "It probably was good for us. Sometimes you need those to get you back on the right track." Tracy Barndt (12 goals, five assists), Amber Hess (11, four) and Michelle Martin (six, 12) lead the squad offensively. In goal, Bev Hartley (four shutouts) and Bethany Canner (three shutouts) split duty .... Lock Haven was 14-1 and leading the South region through 15 games. One familiar figure will be missing from the Eagles' bench -- though she probably will be in the stands. After 23 years, former Lock Haven mentor Sharon Taylor hung up her coach's whistle and became her school's full-time athletics director after last season, bowing out with five national championships (one in Division III). New coach Pat Rudy won titles at Division III Cortland State in 1994 and 1995. Rudy said she notices the difference between fighting for a berth in the 16-team Division III tournament and the one-game Division II championship. "In Division III," she said, "you could survive losing a game or two. In Division II, one loss can keep you out of the tournament, so there is a lot more pressure during the regular season." Lock Haven is led by its all-time leading scorer, Melanie Helm, who has 82 career goals. Complementing her are Stacy Karloski (10 goals, eight assists) and Ann Smith (11 goals, two assists). Goalie Kris Geissler has nine shutouts.

Field: One team each from the North and South regions will be selected to meet in the championship game.

Date and site: November 10 on the campus of one of the competing institutions.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1328 for bracket/schedule and 5085 for championship-game results. Championship results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the November 18 issue of The NCAA News.

Championship notes: Bloomsburg and Lock Haven have played in every championship game but one in the event's seven-year history. In the event's first year (1981), Pfeiffer defeated Bentley, 5-3. Lock Haven has won four times, Bloomsburg twice .... Rudy is in the strange position of coaching defending-champion teams in two consecutive years even though she switched jobs.