Hartwick and Stevens Co-Champs! Stevens Earns AQ Bid
ONEONTA, NY – Top-seeded Hartwick and third-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology played scorless for 110 minutes for a 0-0 tie to be named 2017 Empire 8 Conference co-Champions. The two teams headed to a shootout to determine the Empire 8's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament where the Ducks prevailed, 3-2.
It is Hartwick's first Empire 8 Conference championship in the program's history. For the Ducks, it is their third-straight Empire 8 Tournament Championship and fifth in the last eight years.This is the first time in league history a team failed to score in the Empire 8 Tournament and won the Championship.
Stevens' senior goaltender
Lindsey Mahnken turned away three PK attempts and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament after stopping a total of five shootout attempts and not allowing a goal over the two postseason matches.
Stevens' Julia Panko registered the first chance of the game for either team roughly 12 minutes in when she received the ball in the box, eluded a 'Wick defender, and fired to force a point blank save from Hartwick's
Cassandra Robataille.
Little else troubled either goalkeeper and the half ended 0-0 with the Ducks holding a 7-2 edge in shots.
With 21 minutes left in the game, Hartwick's Rachel Weir fed a ball to Ashley Connolley who took a touch and fired in the box but it was turned away. Brooke Wojciechowski got the rebound and shot across the goal mouth but it went wide of goal.
Shortly after, Stevens' Olivia Butera sent a shot from in close over the Hartwick crossbar.
Hartwick's Sierra Bentley had a shot go wide with under 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Panko had a free kick go just wide with 1:45 left.
In the overtime periods, the Ducks held a slight 4-3 advantage in shots. Bentley's long-range effort was on target but right at Mahnken two and a half minutes into the first extra session. Kiley Richardson
had a long free kick go wide in the second overtime. A deep Panko corner with four minutes to go in the second overtime forced Robataille to punch the ball away on the goal line to preserve the 0-0 tie.
Hartwick went first in the shootout but Mahnken came up with a save on Rachel Pine's shot. Stevens and Hartwick then traded a pair of goals. Panko and Sammy Mount converted for the Ducks. Maddy Paul and Bentley scored for the Hawks.
In the third round, Robataille made a diving stop of Erica O'Kelly and the score was 2-2 with two rounds remaining. Mahnken then went up high to stop
Courtney Velho's shot and Emily Damrell scored to put Stevens up 3-2. Needing to convert, Richardson put her shot high and the Ducks prevailed in the shootout 3-2.
The Ducks would finish the match with a 19-10 edge in shots. They had a 5-2 advantage in corners. Robataille finished the game with seven saves to claim her ninth shutout of the season. Mahnken made five saves in the game and an additional two in the shootout.
The Hawks wrap up their season with a record of 13-5-2.
The Ducks (11-3-4) will await the NCAA Selection Show at 1 p.m. on Monday. Fans can watch the show at
http://www.ncaa.com/fallselections.