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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University field hockey team returns to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time in 23 years 7 p.m. Tuesday in a quarterfinal match at sixth-ranked Indiana (Pa.).
The top three teams from both the PSAC-West and PSAC-East qualified for the playoffs. Slippery Rock (6-12, 5-5 PSAC-West) is the No. 3 seed in the West while Indiana (11-6, 7-3 PSAC-West) is the No. 2 seed. Shippensburg earned the No. 1 seed in the division and receives a bye into the semifinals.
Slippery Rock earned the playoff berth, and forced a rematch with the Crimson Hawks, by upsetting Indiana, 2-1, Saturday in overtime at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Tuesday's match will be the third time SRU and IUP have met this year. The season-series is tied 1-1 with both schools winning on their respective home fields. Indiana defeated Slippery Rock, 4-1, on Oct. 5 at George P. Miller Stadium and The Rock avenged the loss Oct. 22 with its overtime-victory in Slipper Rock.
The winner of the SRU-Indiana match will play against Bloomsburg (17-0, 10-0 PSAC-East), the top seed in the PSAC-East and the top-ranked team in all of Division II according to the NFHCA coach's poll, Friday in the conference semifinals at Shippensburg, Pa.
Live statistics will be provided for Tuesday's quarterfinal game, courtesy of the Indiana sports information office. A link to the live statistics feed is available at the top of this page.
The Rock's sports information office will also be sending out live Twitter updates throughout the game. To follow the official SRU Athletics Twitter account, visit the link at the top of this page.
Game Notes
Playoff History: The last time Slippery Rock qualified for the PSAC playoffs was 1987, or two years before the oldest member of this year's team was born. SRU won its first round match against East Stroudsburg, 2-1, in overtime before losing, 3-1, to Bloomsburg in the conference finals.
Indiana will be making its 10th appearance in the PSAC playoffs. The Crimson Hawks have advanced to the conference finals four times and have won PSAC titles in 2000 and 2007.
The Coaches: Julie Zoolkoski Swiney is in her second season at Slippery Rock and owns a career record of 12-26. The 12 victories, which are more combined wins then SRU produced from 2004-09, are the most wins in back-to-back seasons since The Rock totaled 16 victories in 1997 and 1998.
Gary Agard is in his first season at Indiana. Prior to being named IUP's head coach, Agard was an assistant coach at Bloomsburg from 2003-10. In that time the Huskies won seven national titles and compiled a record of 175-16.
Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock enters the playoffs with an overall record of 6-12 and PSAC-West mark of 5-5. The Rock won three of its final four games to end the season. SRU is 2-8 on the road this year.
Skylar Brosse leads The Rock with nine points. She has scored a team-best, and career-high, four goals this year while also making the first assist of her career.
Gabrielle Malishchak ranks second on the team in scoring with seven points off of two goals and three assists.
Lindsay Brown and
Rebecca Williams are tied for second on the team in goals scored with three each.
Rebecca Coleman has came on strong recently, scoring goals in each of SRU's last two games. A total of 11 different players have scored at least one goal for The Rock this season. Allison Banks leads Slippery Rock in both assists (3) and shots on goal (14).
Slippery Rock is being outshot by its opponents 221-183 while being outscored by the opposition 46-22.
Defenders
Erin Moran and
Grace Bathurst rank first and second for Slippery Rock in defensive saves with six and three, respectively. As a team, Slippery Rock ranks amongst the nations best with 13 defensive saves.
Goalie
Courtney Lee has appeared in 14 games with 11 starts this season and has produced a 6-6 record with two shutouts. Lee has allowed 24 goals for a goals against average of 2.11 and has made 42 saves for a save percentage of .636.
Scouting the Crimson Hawks: Indiana enters the playoffs with an overall record of 11-6 and a PSAC-West mark of 7-3. The Crimson Hawks won four of their final six regular season games after losing back-to-back games Sept. 30 at Millersville and Oct. 1 at Bloomsburg. IUP is 6-2 at home this season.
Indiana is outshooting opponents 236-234 while being outscored by the opposition 46-45. IUP is led by Anouk Sickman, who has 15 goals and nine assists for a team-high 39 points. Shannon Sullivan ranks second in scoring with 14 goals and seven assists, followed by Jillian Duld's six goals and six assists. A total of 11 players have scored at least one goal for IUP.
Goalies Sarah Lemieux and Brittany Varacallo have split time for Indiana this season. Lemieux has appeared in 16 games with eight starts and has a 5-4 record. Lemieux has allowed 19 goals for a goals against average of 2.93 while making 54 saves for a save percentage of .740.
Varacallo has appeared in 17 games with nine starts this season and has produced a 6-2 record. Varacallo has allowed 27 goals for a goals against average of 3.84 and has made 50 saves for a save percentage of .649.
Last Meeting: Malishchak scored a goal 2:42 into overtime to defeat sixth-ranked Indiana (Pa.), 2-1, at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium on Oct. 22. The victory earned The Rock a spot in the PSAC playoffs for the first time since 1987.
Malishchak and Coleman accounted for Slippery Rock's two goals with
Brittany Schultz and Bathurst assisting on the respective scores. Malishchak led SRU with four shots and Brosse made one defensive save. Lee stopped five shots for SRU to earn the win.
Sickman, who scored her 15th goal of the season and took a game-high six shots, led Indiana. Sullivan also registered two shots and Brielle Mackey had one defensive save.
Varacallo took over for Lemieux to begin the second half and suffered the loss after allowing The Rock's goal in overtime. Lemieux allowed one goal and made four saves in the first half before leaving the game.
Playoff History: Tuesday's contest marks the first time Slippery Rock and Indiana have met in the postseason.
