FDU-Florham Sneaks Past Utica in NCAA First Round
Utica, NY (11/12/14)- The nationally ranked No. 17 Utica College field hockey team suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as it fell to visiting Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Wednesday evening at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium.
The Pioneers wrap up their best season ever with an 18-3 record. 18 wins set a new program record for wins in a season. This year's team also set a new record for points (232) and goals (92) in a season.
Senior
Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, PA/Millbrook School) had two goals for the Pioneers, while classmate
Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) had two assists. Junior
Colleen Dowling (Fairport, NY/Fairport) also scored and
Hannah Mackey (Locke, NY/Moravia Central) had one assist.
Utica jumped out to a 1-0 lead just under five minutes into the game as Steele-Norton tipped a long shot from Stojkovski and played it around the FDU goalie. The Devils evened the score in the 30th minute as Nicole Hall netted her first of the season off a pass from Gabrielle D'Amico to send the teams into halftime knotted at 1-1.
Florham came out strong in the second half, scoring at 41:11 as D'Amico netted her sixth of the year as she put in a rebound off the post to give the Devils their first lead of the game. It was short-lived however as Steele-Norton and Stojkovski connected again just 16 seconds later to tie the game.
Florham was able to regain the lead two minutes later off a shot from Alicia Grotyohann following a penalty corner. Dowling tied the game in the 50th minute as she rocketed a shot into the cage off a pass from Mackey on a set piece.
Despite many opportunities, neither team was able to score in the final 20 minutes, forcing an extra frame. Just over 8 minutes into the overtime period, Freedom Conference Player of the Year, Niki Ikeda fired in a shot off the corner to seal the victory.
Florham's Amy Defnet made eight saves in the win, while
Kells Casey (Sandwich, MA/Kimball Union Academy) had two saves for Utica in the loss. UC outshot the Devils 13-6 on the day, however FDU held an 8-4 advantage in corners.
Utica will say goodbye to 11 seniors who were instrumental in putting the Utica College field hockey team on the map. They compiled a 61-22 record over the course of their careers, and are the only group in UC history to capture three straight Empire 8 Conference titles.