The NCAA News - News and Features

November 10, 1997

Division I Field Hockey

Lady Monarchs seek first title since '92

Event: 1997 Division I Field Hockey Championship.

Overview: Old Dominion, which won three consecutive championships from 1990 through 1992 but has not appeared in a title game since then, is ranked No. 1. The Lady Monarchs' only loss was against third-ranked Maryland, 3-2, after two penalty-stroke sessions. Marina DiGiacomo leads the offense with 26 goals and 17 assists. With the exception of the Maryland game and a 5-4 overtime win against two-time defending champion North Carolina, no team has come closer to Old Dominion than two goals. Old Dominion has blanked 11 opponents behind the .855 saves percentage of Staci Smith .... Virginia has beaten everyone on its schedule but Old Dominion, including two victories over North Carolina and one over Maryland. The Cavaliers are led by Meridith Thorpe, who has 19 goals and four assists. Michelle Vizzuso has a team-leading 15 assists and has contributed eight goals. Goalkeeper Becky Worthington ranks first nationally in saves percentage (.900) and goals-against average (.375) .... Third-ranked Maryland (18-2) is led by the high-powered combination of Lynsey McVicker and Nadine Bennett. McVicker has 18 goals and 23 assists; Bennett has 23 goals and five assists. Only Old Dominion and North Carolina have beaten the Terrapins, each by one goal ... Fourth-ranked North Carolina may have come up short in three games, but each was tight. The Tar Heels took Old Dominion into overtime before falling, 5-4 .... Fifth-ranked Princeton, which finished second nationally last year, has lost only one game, but it was to the Tigers' toughest opponent of the year up to that point, Maryland, by a 7-2 count.

Field: Twelve teams are selected, with at least one team coming from each of five regions.

Dates and sites: The first and second rounds will be played at on-campus sites November 15 and 16. The semifinals will be November 21 at Connecticut and the championship game will be there November 23.

Information/results: The fax-on-demand telephone number is 913/339-3060 (passcode 1905). Request numbers are 1321 for bracket/schedule, 1322 for ticket information, 5083 for semifinals results and 5084 for championship game results. Results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. First- and second-round results and pairings will be published in the November 24 issue of The NCAA News. Semifinal and championships results will be published in the December 1 issue.