Field Hockey Clinches Title in 1-0 Victory
11/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Armed with their most impressive defensive showing of the season, Kent State University field hockey (10-9, 8-2 MAC) won the Mid-American Conference Regular-Season Championship today (Nov. 1) with a 1-0 overtime victory against the University of Louisville (11-9, 6-4 MAC). This is the Golden Flashes third MAC regular-season title in the last five years.
In a showdown of the top two teams in the MAC, todays contest was set to decide the fate of the regular-season title and which team would take the top seed in the MAC Championsip Tournament.
The Flashes experienced defensive line of seniors Kelly Given (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and Stephanie Mirner (Glasgow, Scotland/Craigholm School) and junior Jessica Schanz (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) would not allow KSU to lose today, as they tightened the pressure, allowing just three shots in the entire game, none of which reached senior goalkeeper Jessica Creeden (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus).
Another senior, midfielder Jennifer Melnyk (Delta, B.C./South Delta), notched her 13th goal of the season in a one-on-one threat to put the Cardinals away just over seven minutes into overtime.
Creeden won her ninth game of the year and Christy Hershey made six saves in seven tries to take the loss.
The MAC Championship Tournament is at Dix Stadium, in Kent, Ohio, from Friday-Sunday, Nov. 7-9. Fridays and Saturdays games are at noon and 2:30 p.m. and Sundays championship game is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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