Stevens Upends Lebanon Valley to Earn Berth in ECAC Mid-Atlantic Final

11/11/2012 2:21:00 AM

Rob Kulish

ANNVILLE, Pa. (November 11, 2012) – Junior backs Megan Traub (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) and Grace Ridge (Moorestown, N.J.) scored goals, junior forward Marguerite Chavez (Oceanport, N.J.) had two assists and senior goalie Kaitlin McClymont (Corpus Christi, Texas) made 11 saves to earn her third shutout of the season as the third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team defeated second-seeded Lebanon Valley College 2-0 in the semifinals of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Mid-Atlantic Championship Saturday night.
 
The Ducks (15-7) will take on Fairleigh Dickinson University – Florham Sunday afternoon in the ECAC Mid-Atlantic title game at 3 p.m. The eighth-seeded Devils defeated No. 4 Alvernia University in overtime in the other semifinal.
 
After a scoreless first half, the Ducks broke through 19:38 into the second when Ridge crushed a penalty-corner insert from Chavez for her fourth goal of the season and second game-winner. The assist was the 11th of the year for Chavez who now has helpers in five of the last six games.
 
At 65:27 of the second, Traub tallied her 12th of the season on a penalty corner. The junior captain received the insert from Chavez and placed her shot in the lower-left corner. Traub now has five goals in her last three games.
 
McClymont was excellent all afternoon, tallying double-digit saves for the fourth time this season. All 11 stops came in the first half as Stevens controlled possession and field position throughout the final 35 minutes.
 
Stevens ended with a 25-15 margin in shots and a 21-11 edge in penalty corners. Junior goalie Chloe Baro (Douglassville, Pa.) had an excellent game for LVC (12-9), making 17 saves.
 
On September 19, the Ducks faced FDU in Hoboken and defeated the Devils by a final of 3-2. Chavez tallied the game-winner, with freshman Dailyn Brook (Cherry Hill, N.J.) netting a pair of markers.
 
Stevens has never won an ECAC title and will be hoping Sunday is its first. The 15 wins for the Ducks this year are the third-most in program history, while their 69 goals is second best ever.
 
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