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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The eighth-ranked Slippery Rock University field hockey team returns to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs for the second consecutive year Tuesday when it travels to fourth-ranked Indiana (Pa.) for a quarterfinal match at George P. Miller Stadium. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

A preview of the game is posted below.

Live Statistics: The IUP sports information department will provide a live statistics feed of the quarterfinal game at the link posted above.

Slippery Rock's sports information department will also be sending out live Twitter updates throughout the game. To follow the official SRU Athletics Twitter account, visit the link posted above.

Tickets: Tickets will be sold by the PSAC at the gate. Prices are $7 adults, $2 students and free admission to students with a valid Slippery Rock University ID card.

Playoff Picture: The top three teams during the regular season from both the PSAC-West and the PSAC-East earned playoff spots. Slippery Rock (8-9, 5-5 PSAC-West) is slated as the No. 3 seed in the West, while IUP (13-4, 8-2 PSAC-West) is the No. 2 seed. Shippensburg (17-1, 9-1 PSAC-West) earned the top spot in the division and received a bye into the semi-finals.

The winner of the SRU-IUP match will travel to face West Chester (15-2, 9-1 PSAC-East), the top seed in the PSAC-East and defending national champions, Friday at Vonnie Gros Field.

Playoff History: Slippery Rock reaches the PSAC playoff for the second consecutive year under head coach, Julie Swiney. Prior to last year's playoff appearance, SRU had not qualified for the PSAC Tournament since 1987.

Indiana will be making its 11th appearance in the PSAC playoffs. The Crimson Hawks have advanced to the conference finals four times and have won the PSAC title in 2000 and 2007.

This year's playoff game will mark the second time in as many years that SRU and IUP have met in the PSAC Tournament. Last year, the Crimson Hawks edged The Rock, 2-0 in their first-ever postseason meeting.

Series: Indiana holds a 32-16-1 advantage in the all-time series lead. Tuesday's matchup marks the sixth time in the last two years the teams have faced.

2012 Regular Season Meetings: IUP swept this year's regular season series, winning both contests, 2-1, in come from behind fashion.

Oct. 3, 2012 – SRU's Gina Smarelli tallied her first goal of the season in the first half but The Rock couldn't hold off IUP as Anouk Sickman scored two goals in the second half to steal the victory away from Slippery Rock.

Oct. 21, 2012 – Ally Banks scored a goal to give SRU the lead early in the first half but two goals by IUP in the final 15 minutes of the game stole the victory away from The Rock. Casey McGowan put home the game-winner with 3:25 remaining to give Indiana a 2-1 win.

Scouting The Rock: Slippery Rock enters the playoffs with an overall record of 8-9 and is 5-5 in PSAC-West action.

Allison Shade leads the team with seven goals and one assist, while Kaitlin McGinnis has tallied five goals. Ally Banks has added four goals and six assists, Lindsay Brown has four goals and two assists and Kelsey Gustafson and Rebecca Williams each have three goals. Gabrielle Malishchak has two goals, four assists and a team-high four defensive saves to round out the top performers.

Goalkeeper Courtney Lee has started every game in goal for SRU and is 8-9 with one shutout. She has allowed 24 goals for a 1.44 goals against average and has made 100 saves for a .806 save percentage.

Scouting the Crimson Hawks: Indiana enters the playoffs with an overall record of 13-4 while going 8-2 in the PSAC-West.

Nicole Bruce leads the team with 14 goals and 10 assists, while Anouk Sickman has nine goals and four assists. Brielle Mackey (4 goals, 4 assists), Chelsea Wanamaker (4 goals, 1 assit), Paige Mosner (4 goals, 1 assist), Alicia Straining (4 goals) and Ashley Mosner (4 goals) round out the top scorers for the Crimson Hawks.

Sarah Lemieux and Brittany Varacallo each have seen time in goal this year with Lemieux seeing the most starts. She has allowed 24 goals for a 3.01 goals against average and has made 65 saves for a .730 save percentage for a 6-4 record. IUP's recent closer, Varacallo, owns a 7-0 record, has allowed 10 goals for a 1.84 goals against average and has made 19 saves for a .655 save percentage.

Head Coaches: Julie Swiney is in her third season at the helm for SRU. She has led The Rock to back-to-back six-win seasons and their first PSAC playoff appearance since 1987 a year ago. Swiney joined Slippery Rock after serving four years as American International's head coach from 2006-2009. A 2003 graduate of The College of William and Mary, Swiney was a three-year starter for the Tribe.

Gary Agard is in this third season at IUP. Last year, He guided the Crimson Hawks to a 12-7 record and a berth in the PSAC semifinals for the first time since 2008. Prior to Indiana, Agard spent eight seasons as an assistant coach for Bloomsburg and helped the Huskies to a 175-16 record during that time. The Trinidad and Tobago native graduated from Brooklyn College in 1996.