The NCAA News - News and Features

November 3, 1997

Division II Field Hockey

Bloomsburg, Kutztown on inside track to title match, but Lock Haven remains hopeful

Event: 1997 Division II Field Hockey Championship.

Overview: Defending champion Bloomsburg and Lock Haven have played for every title since the championship was reinstated in 1992 (and twice during the tournament's earlier years). Bloomsburg -- after losing seven of last year's starters, including four all-Americans -- struggled to an early 5-3 record but hasn't lost since in building a 14-3 mark. Amber Hess, who scored the only goal in last year's championship game with a first-half penalty stroke, had 14 goals and two assists through the first 17 games, helping lead the team to a 6-1 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference record. The Huskies' lone PSAC setback came against last year's runner-up, Lock Haven, which also suffered considerable losses to graduation and has struggled to a 10-7 mark (including a recent 4-0 blanking at the hands of Longwood). Included in Bloomsburg's nine-game winning streak is a 4-3 overtime win over Kutztown, a newcomer to championship contention. That win marked the only time in the Huskies' winning streak in which the opponent scored more than one goal (four other victories were shutouts) .... Kutztown, a senior-laden team from a school that last made the tournament in 1983 (there was no tournament from 1984 through 1991), has rolled to a 16-2 record, with its other loss coming against Sacred Heart (3-2). The Golden Bears are 8-2 in games decided by one goal. The high-scoring duo of Jenn Wolfgang and Shannon Daggett, each with 17 goals, leads the team .... Although Bloomsburg and Kutztown appear to be the favorites, Lock Haven still may have a shot at gaining a championship berth -- depending on how it fares in what could be head-to-head match-ups in the PSAC tournament .... Other teams in the running for a bid include Assumption (11-5), which never has advanced to the tournament, and Bentley, which has won 15 straight games at home behind sophomore scoring phenom Jen Bunce. Through 16 games, Bunce had 33 points, just five shy of the school record.

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

Date and site: November 9 on the campus of one of the competing institutions.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); the request number for championship-game results is 5085. Results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Results will be published in the November 17 issue of The NCAA News.