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News for 11 September 2015

All the news for Friday 11 September 2015


India enters Semifinals of 7th Women’s Junior Asia Cup

Changzhou (China): Captain Rani Rampal's hat trick helped the Indian Junior Women Team to convincingly defeat Malaysia 9-1 in their last league game of the 7th Women’s Junior Asia Cup. With this win India has qualified for the semi-final of the tournament.

Indian eves wasted no time in attacking the opponent’s half and penetrated the Malaysian circle in the early minutes of the game. Preeti Dubey rushed into the Malaysian defence and played a cross ball towards Rani Rampal, who scored the first goal for India in the 8th minute. 15th minute and it was Jaspreet Kaur who converted a penalty corner opportunity to register India's 2nd goal. With 6 minutes left to the first half, India took a 3-0 lead with the help of Preeti Dubey's brilliant conversion. Just before the end of first half Malaysia opened its account as Mohd. Saiuti Norfaiezah sneaked through the Indian defence on a counter attacking move to earn the first goal for her team and the session ended 3-1 in favor of India.

Indian girls came all guns blazing in the second half looking all fired to add further goals to their score. They attacked relentlessly to score 4 goals in the 37th, 39th, 41st and 42nd minute, taking the score to 7-1 and leaving the opponents frustrated. Hungry for more, 51st minute saw Poonam Balra deflecting a running ball from wide angle past through goal keeper to add the 8th goal for her team. India was witnessed persistently raiding the Malaysian circle and Jaspreet Kaur scored her second goal of the match through another penalty corner in the 60th minute of the game. With this the game finished 9-1 in favour for India.

India will now gear up for their semi-final clash slated for 12th September 2015 against Japan.

The 7th Women’s Junior Asia cup 2015 is a qualification tournament for the FIH Junior World Cup (Women) 2016.

Stick2Hockey.com



India beat Malaysia 9-1, enter semi-final of Junior Asia Cup

CHANGZHOU (China): Skipper Rani Rampal led from the front and slammed a hat-trick as Indian eves thrashed Malaysia 9-1 in their last league game of the seventh women's Junior Asia Cup here on Thursday.

By virtue of this win, India have qualified for the semi-final of the tournament.

The Indian eves started on an attacking note and penetrated the Malaysian circle in the early minutes of the game.

Preeti Dubey rushed into the Malaysian circle and played a cross ball towards Rani Rampal, who scored the first goal for India in the eighth minute.

In the 15th minute, Jaspreet Kaur converted a penalty corner to give India a 2-0 lead.

Six minutes from halftime, India tripled their lead through Preeti Dubey's brilliant goal.

Malaysia, however, pulled one back just before the end of the first half with a field strike from the sticks of Mohd Saiuti Norfaiezah.

After the change of ends, the Indian girls started from where they left in the first half and attacked relentlessly, which resulted in four goals (37th, 39th, 41st and 42nd minutes) in a short span of six minutes.

Hungry for more, Poonam Balra deflected in a running ball from wide angle past Malaysian goalkeeper in the 51st minute to register India's eighth goal.

Jaspreet scored her second goal of the match through another penalty corner conversion in the final minute of the game to round off the tally.

India will play their semi-final clash on Saturday. The ongoing tournament is a qualification event for next year's FIH Junior World Cup (Women).

The Times of India



Malaysia: 3-1 to 9-1 in 35 minutes

By Jugjet Singh

THE Malaysian women's junior team failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the Junior Asia Cup, but there was good news for their senior counterparts yesterday.

On a day when the juniors fell 9-1 to India at the Wujin Stadium in Changzhou, China, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) awarded the Women's World League Round Two to Malaysia.

The tournament will be held in 2017, and will serve as a qualifier for the 2018 World Cup.

However, hosts Malaysia have yet to qualify for the World Cup, and the World League Round Two will be a difficult tournament.

Yesterday, India were leading 3-0 but Malaysia's Wan Norfaiezah scored at the brink of half-time to inject some hope of an upset.

But three quick goals from India upon restart killed any hope of playing in their first ever Junior Asia Cup semi-finals.

Only three teams qualify for the Junior World Cup, and Malaysia will now play in the fifth-eight classification matches.

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



FIH announces rule changes to Indoor Hockey

  • Return to six players instead of five
  • Changes follow consultation with Athletes and Rules Committees
  • Rules to be adopted start of 2016

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has confirmed six rule changes to Indoor Hockey which will come into effect at the start of 2016, including a return to six players on the pitch.

Whilst that is the most significant rule change, several others will also come into effect on 1 January 2016.

One of these relates to attacking Free Pushes within three metres of the edge of the line. This follows a recommendation from the FIH Athletes Committee who thought that there should be a consistent approach between outdoor and indoor hockey.

As a result, an attacking Free Push awarded within three metres of the circle will now be taken from the point of the offence.

Another rule which will now be officially adopted is the interpretation that was first introduced at the 2015 Indoor World Cup in Leipzig, Germany - the banning of ‘Trapping’ players in the circle or against the side-boards.

This occurred when a player in possession of the ball is ‘trapped’ in either the corner of the pitch or against the side-boards by opponents’ flat sticks. They will have to be left with an outlet for the ball - failure to do so will result in the opponents being penalised.

Compared to previous Indoor World Cups, this resulted in far fewer ‘bullies’ and a more attractive game.

Furthermore, players who deliberately aim to trap the ball between their and an opponent’s stick to gain a ‘bully’ will be similarly penalised.

The number of times a team may substitute a fully kitted goalkeeper off the pitch for either a player with goalkeeping privileges or another field player will be limited to a total of two per match as of 2016.

Compared to the 2015 version of the Rules, this effectively means that substitutions between fully kitted goalkeepers no longer count towards the total number of allowed substitutions

The only other rule change sees the adoption of ‘No extraneous equipment inside the goals’ from the Tournament Regulations into the official Rules. This is aimed at making the goal area cleaner and therefore a lot easier for officials and spectators to see.

Whilst these changes will come into effect from 1 January 2016 for international hockey, National Associations will have discretion to decide the date of implementation at national level.

All of these changes were recommended by the FIH Rules Committee to, and approved by, the FIH Executive Board.

The latest Rules of Indoor Hockey will be uploaded to FIH.ch and available for download within the next few weeks.

FIH Media release



Indoor hockey to be six-a-side affair: FIH

LAUSANNE: The International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Thursday announced that an indoor hockey side will have six players on the pitch, instead of the existing five, from January 2016.

Among the six new rules announced, one of them relates to attacking Free Pushes within three metres of the edge of the line. According to the new rule, an attacking Free Push awarded within three metres of the circle will now be taken from the point of the offence.

Another rule which will now be officially adopted is the interpretation that was first introduced at the 2015 Indoor World Cup in Leipzig, Germany -- the banning of 'Trapping' players in the circle or against the side-boards.

This occurs when a player in possession of the ball is 'trapped' in either the corner of the pitch or against the side-boards by opponents' flat sticks. They will have to be left with an outlet for the ball - failure to do so will result in the opponents being penalised.

Compared to previous Indoor World Cups, this resulted in far fewer 'bullies' and a more attractive game.

Furthermore, players who deliberately aim to trap the ball between their and an opponent's stick to gain a 'bully' will be similarly penalised.

The number of times a team may substitute a fully kitted goalkeeper off the pitch for either a player with goalkeeping privileges or another field player will be limited to a total of two per match as of 2016.

The Times of India



D'Souza takes on Austrian coach job


Picture: Manfred Eitenberger

Cedric D’Souza has taken up the reins as the new Austrian head coach for the next Olympic cycle with the 60-year-old Indian leading the men’s and Under-21 national team.

He will begin the role in March 2016 following a spell in October 2015 for an initial planning session in Vienna. D’Souza has previously had two spells as coach of the Indian national team as well as acting as director of coaching, co-ordination and planning. Among the highlights included a fifth place finish at the 1994 World Cup and eighth at the Olympics in Atlanta.

In Austria, he acted as the head coach of SV Arminen from 2010, leading the club to their first national title in 15 years in 2013, combining the work with a coaching job with the Delhi Waveriders in the Hockey India League.

D’Souza will concentrate on outdoor hockey with Tomasz Laskowski continuing on as indoor coach.

Speaking about the new job, D’Souza said: "In three years with SV Arminen in which I have worked with many current internationals, I was able to observe the Austrian national team and I know an amazing development has occurred.

“Although it is a young team, the curve is steeply upward.The fact that we have players in Germany, Holland and Belgium shows the great quality of the players who can compete with the best in the world.”

Euro Hockey League media release



Kelburne to host Club Champions Trophy

Kelburne will host the EuroHockey Club Champions Trophy in Glasgow next May as they battle to try and win back a second spot for Scotland in the Euro Hockey League.

They are placed in a tough group with Irish Senior Cup winners Banbridge, Belarus champions HC Minsk and Switzerland’s Rotweiss Wettingen. The other group features last year’s runners-up SK Slavia Praha and bronze medal winners Atasport from Azerbaijan.

Italian runners-up HC Bra and Welsh champions Cardiff and Met completed the line-up for the competition.

In the third tier, SV Arminen are the hosts in Vienna following an historic season in the EHL when they became Austria’s first club to win a match as well as reaching the KO16. They meet Welsh, Czech and Portuguese opposition while the opposite pool has teams from Ukraine, Croatia, Switzerland and Belarus.

The fourth tier will be played in Slovakia, the fifth in Slovenia and the sixth level – the EuroHockey Club Champions Challenge IV will be held in Malta.

In total, 63 men’s teams will battle it out for European club titles over the course of the 2015/16 season, representing over 30 different countries.

On the women’s side, Bilthoven in the Netherlands will once again be the destination for the EuroHockey Club Champions Cup with SCHC hoping to retain their title ahead of Dutch rivals Den Bosch.

England’s Surbiton and Canterbury, Germany’s UHC Hamburg, Spain’s Club de Campo, Ireland’s Pegasus and Russia’s CSP Krylatskoye.

Like the men’s competitions, there are six levels of European competition with tournaments confirmed for Prague, Lille and Gibraltar and two more venues to be confirmed.

Euro Hockey League media release



Wimbledon fine tune panel for English season

Wimbledon have brought in EHL champion Richie Dawson-Smith, from Harvestehuder, and Club an der Alster’s Matthias Knuepfer for their maiden season in the Euro Hockey League along with Peter Millar from Jersey.

That trio are in the mix to make their debut for the reigning English champions when they make the trip to Brooklands MU for the opening round of the Premier Division on Sunday afternoon.

The English club will hope they can ease the departure of Australian Blake Govers who was one of their stars last season though they do have a wealth of international players on their books in the form of Michael Hoare, Henry Weir, Phil Roper, James Bailey, Ian Sloan and Alistair Brogdon.

The three newcomers are among a number of changes in the English league. East Grinstead have moved to cover their departures of top stars like Ashley Jackson (Holcombe), Mark Gleghorne (Beeston) and Andy Bull (Pinoke) with a number of canny signings.

Dom Bowden returns from a spell in Holland to join the Saint Hill club whilst Rob Schilling brings his considerable experience over from Surbiton.
Surbiton have bolstered their panel with the arrival of New Zealand corner expert Andy Hayward who heads across London from Hampstead and Westminster.

Euro Hockey League media release



Newcomers East Grinstead face champions Surbiton


East Grinstead celebrating promotion to the Premier Division. Credit: Andy Smith.

Newcomers to the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division, East Grinstead face a baptism of fire with a trip to champions Surbiton on the opening day of the season on Saturday.

They were easily the winners of the Investec Conference East last season, losing just once in the league. But they face a tough challenge against a Surbiton outfit who beat Canterbury 2-1 back in April to successfully defend the Championship title.

“We’ve had a good summer and have picked up some good players,” said coach Mary Booth, whose side have brought in England ace Laura Unsworth from Holcombe, the Haines sisters Takara and Tacita and several others.

“Who knows what will happen against Surbiton? We don’t expect to win, so the pressure is off and if we get anything from the game it’s a bonus,” added Booth.

“The girls are ready to play and want to get their first game out of the way. We’re mindful that five years ago we were in the Sussex Premier Division, so we’re just happy to be where we are.

“Our aim this season is to stay in the Division, but in four weeks that may change!”

Last season’s runners-up Canterbury head to Kent rivals Holcombe on Saturday, with Czech youngster Anna Kolárová being their only major new signing, while Holcombe have a host of new faces including England Under-21 skipper Kim Leiper from Loughborough Students and Welsh internationals Sarah Jones and Leah Wilkinson from Reading.

Reading travel to Buckingham and will aim to continue their form despite several high-profile departures, and have bolstered their squad with Georgie Blackwood from Canterbury (New Zealand), Australian Rose Winter, both of whom have UK passports, and Kiwi Belinda Smith.

Clifton are hosting Bowdon Hightown who welcome back international Sally Walton from Wakefield and see Felicia Haehner join from Harvestuder, Germany. The University of Birmingham are at home against Leicester in the day’s other top flight match. The students’ newcomers include Erica Sanders and Flora Peel from Beeston, Holly Hunt from Bowdon Hightown and Alice Wills from Holcombe.

In the Investec Conference North, last season’s winners Wakefield start with a home match against the University of Durham, while Brooklands Poynton – who pushed Wakefield all the way last term – go to Whitley Bay and Tynemouth.

In the Investec Conference East Sevenoaks – who were runners-up last term - entertain Slough who won the Investec Conference West last term but have changed divisions in 2015-16.

Slough’s change of divisions means the Investec Conference West looks very open this season. Last season’s runners-up Swansea City head to Devon to play Isca, while Gloucester City are at home to newcomers the University of Bristol.

Investec Women’s Hockey League (Saturday, September 12 2015)

Investec Premier Division
Clifton v Bowdon Hightown 13:00
Holcombe v Canterbury 16:00
Buckingham v Reading 12:00
Univ of Birmingham v Leicester 12:30
Surbiton v East Grinstead 14:00

Investec Conference East
Sevenoaks v Slough 12:00
St Albans v Chelmsford 12:00
Maidenhead v Hampstead and Westminster 13:30
Harleston Magpies v Wimbledon 14:00
Ipswich v Cambridge City 18:00

Investec Conference North
Belper v Loughborough Students 12:00
Whitley Bay and Tynemouth v Brooklands Poynton 12:30
Beeston v Ben Rhydding 12:00
Wakefield v Univ of Durham 13:30
Springfields v Liverpool Sefton 14:00

Investec Conference West
Bristol Firebrands v Stourport 11:30
Gloucester City v Univ of Bristol 12:00
Oxford Hawks v Trojans 12:00
Olton and West Warwicks v Sutton Coldfield 12:00
Isca v Swansea City 12:30

England Hockey Board Media release



Juniors not a priority for Hockey India

Inadequate support staff and lack of exposure trips may hamper colts' development and transition

Indervir Grewal


The junior national team has been sent to a high-altitude camp in Shilaroo, near Shimla, without a physical trainer. Tribune photo: Indervir Grewal

Shilaroo: There’s a still in the air and a quiet around the valley. On the green turf, the boys slowly walk back to their positions, discussing what went wrong the last time. As Harendra Singh blows the whistle, the scene suddenly gets hectic. The ball, at the centre-line, moves from the right to the left and reaches Varun Kumar.

The 20-year-old takes a couple of steps down the side line, then shimmies to the right and pulls away from his marker. Amidst all the bustle of the players running around him, he takes a moment, briefly looks up and slaps the ball through the middle to the unmarked forward in the circle. “That’s it,” Harendra shouts out before blowing the whistle again to indicate that the drill is over.

Harendra is bound to get excited; he’s the coach. But, in general, there is a greater level of excitement and joy derived from watching juniors play and succeed then from watching seniors. Maybe, it’s because each display of technical or tactical brilliance from the juniors evokes hope for a better future for Indian hockey.

But hope is quickly followed by the usual misgiving — like so many in the past, would this talent and potential also be wasted because of the administrators’ neglect.

Proper development

A look at the list of the support staff with the junior team reinforces that doubt. Apart from Harendra, there are two other coaches, a physiotherapist, a mental trainer and a video analyst. But there is no physical trainer.

The team is undergoing a month-long high-altitude training camp at the SAI Centre in Shilaroo, about 50km north of Shimla. It’s the first ever high-altitude camp for the junior team but there is no physical trainer.

Hockey India (HI) hasn’t appointed separate physical trainers for the senior and junior teams. Australian Matthew Eyles works with both the teams.

Has he not been at the camp once? “No,” says Harendra. “We work from the notes that Matt sends.”

The camp, which started on August 9, is nearing its end. Despite the fact that the senior national camp only started on September 5, Hockey India didn’t send Eyles to the all-important camp.

It is baffling, considering that players need more attention at the developing stage.

“It is very important to give proper attention at the junior level,” says Jaspreet Jassi, physical trainer at the Surjit Hockey Academy, Jalandhar. “Because every player develops differently — some take longer than others — you need to give individual attention. And you need to keep testing the players on a more regular basis at the junior level; checking their progress to see if it’s time to increase the load,” adds the former national-level athlete, who has been with the academy for over eight years.

Harendra says he has asked HI for a separate physical trainer for the junior team. To add to it, the video analyst has been sitting useless at the camp. He didn’t bring the proper software, because of which there haven’t been any video sessions to study the progress of the boys.

Despite repeated tries, HI president Narinder Batra or sectretary Md. Mushtaque Ahmad couldn’t be contacted.

Lack of exposure

The team’s next big assignment is next month’s Sultan of Johor Cup, where it will defend the title for the second year in a row, followed by the Junior Asia Cup in November.

The camp ends on September 11 and after a week’s break the team will move to Delhi for the final camp before the tournament. Despite all the training, Harendra feels the team is short on match practice. They last played an international match in July at the Volvo International tournament in the Netherlands. In fact that’s the only tournament they have played this year.

The case has been the same in the previous years. Last year, they played in the Sultan of Johor Cup and went to Australia in December for a Test series.

The junior team plays around 10 international matches on an average in a year. On an average, a player should have played about 70 matches before he reaches the senior level. “We need more tours like the one to Australia. We played seven matches against Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It was great experience for the boys,” says Harendra.

“We’ll be in Delhi along with the senior team. I have asked HI to get us more matches with the senior team whenever the two teams train at the same venue,” he adds.

Transition

Making the transition from the junior to the senior level is probably the hardest step in the life of a sportsperson. Without proper support, many of even the most talented athletes fail to bridge that gap. And this has been a big problem with Indian hockey.

Our junior teams have had better results than the senior teams in the recent past — the men won the World Cup in 2001, the women finished third in 2013 World Cup and now the two consecutive wins at the Sultan of Johor Cup. But that success has rarely been transferred to the senior level.

The first major reason has been the inclusion of overage players at the junior levels. “When the overage players graduate to the senior level, they are already past the peak and they play for a couple of years only,” says Harendra. Few months ago, HI excluded 17 boys from the national camp, most of them were overage. “Because of the overage players, many of the talented youngsters lose out because they just can’t compete with the older guys,” Harendra adds.

The second reason is the lack of proper support to the junior teams — an extensive support staff and a well-planned schedule are two of the main factors. In fact, as all of the foreign coaches repeatedly emphasised on, it is time for HI and SAI to start making changes from the grass-roots level; there has to be a proper structure — which includes modern coaching throughout the country, better tournament structure, better selection process etc.

Out of the 17 players that were excluded, 10 had made the cut for the current camp. The coaching staff is having a tough time trying to finding proper replacements for those players — it’s very discouraging that in country of a billion-plus people, the coaches of a national team can’t find replacements for 10 players.

The Tribune



No clear favourites Friday

By Jugjet Singh

THE Malaysia Hockey League TNB Cup quarter-finals will start without favourites Friday, as all four teams are of the same standard.

Premier Division League champions Terengganu Hockey Team and runners-up Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club are seeded into the semi-finals, leaving the other four to battle for two remaining slots.

The first quarters will be between Tenaga Nasional and Maybank, followed by Sapura and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL).

In the two round league, Tenaga won both with 2-1 scores, while Sapura edged UniKL 2-1 and 3-2.

Tenaga, title sponsors, are the only team to have field an all-local outfit.

“We lost to TNB 2-1 in both home-and-away matches and on paper they certainly have the psychological edge over us,” said Maybank coach S. Vellapan.

“But it only gives us additional strength to get over this and stake a claim in the quarterfinals. There are certain areas we are working on building especially our penalty corners strike rates,” he added.

For the record, Tenaga beat Maybank 5-2 in last year’s TNB Cup third-placing play-off after both teams were tied 2-2 in regulation time.

For Tenaga, who are bent on developing local talent, their goalmouth will be guarded by Malaysia's No 1 goalkeeper S. Kumar while the forward line will depend on national striker Shahril Saabah to deliver the goals.

However, Shahril has only scored four goals in 10 matches, while Tenaga's penalty corner battery has been blunt.

The six Project 2016 palyers who helped Tenaga finish fourth in the League are expected to play the leading role again.

The six are Aminudin Zain, Amirol Aideed, Nik Aiman, Najib Abu Hassan, Firdaus Omar and Syed Syafiq.

FRIDAY: Quarter-finals First Leg: Tenaga Nasional v Maybank (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm); Sapura v Universiti Kuala Lumpur (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).

SUNDAY: Quarter-finals Second Leg -- Universiti Kuala Lumpur v Sapura (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 6pm); Maybank v Tenaga Nasional (Bukit Jalil Pitch II, 8pm).

Jugjet's World of Field Hockey



Former giants Maybank and Tenaga face-off for pride in MHL quarter-finals

By S. Ramaguru

KUALA LUMPUR: Two former hockey kingpins Maybank and Tenaga Nasional come face-to-face in the quarter-finals first-leg match for the overall title in the Malaysia Hockey League at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Friday.

The duo ruled the roost since the inception of the league in 1987 but have since fallen on bad times with Terengganu and Kuala Lumpur Hockey Club (KLHC) bossing the proceedings over the past few seasons.

Still, the duo will be fighting for pride, especially for the Tigers who are out to shock Tenaga who beat them 2-1 twice in the preliminary round.

Tenaga are aware of Maybank’s intention and are planning to stop them in their tracks.

Assistant team manager Adam Izamry Idrus said they have to put to good use the lessons from the preliminary round.

“There are no easy matches as it is the knockout stage. Of course we have the edge as we beat them twice. But I do not see that as a big advantage.

“Maybank are like a wounded tiger and I am sure they would want to salvage their season by making the last four. It will be close. We too, aim to win,” said Adam.

Maybank coach S. Vellapan believes the danger will come from the Tenaga’s penalty corner battery.

“In the earlier matches we lost due to their penalty corner hits. They have two good flickers in Mohamed Shahril Saabah and Mohamed Amin Rahim. It is not enough to know about their prowess as we need to stop them. More importantly, we need to avoid giving away penalty corners. If we can keep the mistakes down then we are in with a chance,” said Vellapan.

In Friday’s other last-eight tie, underdogs Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), who collected a meagre one point after 10 matches in the preliminaries, face former champions Sapura.

UniKL lost 1-2 and 3-4 in the league but coach A. Arulselvaraj is confident of upsetting the form books.

“Knock-out matches are different and you also need a bit of luck. The players realise that they have a mountain to climb but they are confident of making amends for their poor run earlier in the season. It is a good sign and it means that they are ready to battle to the end,” said Arulselvaraj.

“A lot will depend on how we translate this confidence into a win. We have a young team with 12 players from the Project 2016 squad. They are learning with each match,” he added.

Arulselvaraj is impressed by defender Mohamed Najmi Farizal who has scored six penalty corner goals. Mohamed Sufi Ismail, Meor Mohamd Azuan, Mohamed Ridzwan Azmi, Mohamed Azwar and Mohamed Haziq Shamsul are other youngsters the coach will be banking on to turn the tables on Sapura in their first-leg match. 

The Star of Malaysia



Weekend College Games

USA Field Hockey highlights some of the top college games in Division I, II and III each week.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

DI: No. 10 Boston College vs No. 19 Boston University
The Battle of Boston will be a great game. Boston College will be looking to capture the win this year after a 2-1 overtime victory in 2014. Boston College also comes into the game under the new leadership of former Associate Head Coach, Kelly Doton. So far this season, the Eagles have only one loss against Northwestern after securing an overtime win against Maryland. Boston University heads into the game with a similar record with a 1-2 loss to Massachusetts.

DII: No. 8 Limestone vs Bellermine
The game between Limestone and Bellermine is the first of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) match-ups for both teams this year. In 2014, Limestone came out on top in the regular season meeting and in the championship game in the ECAC DII Championships. However, this year Limestone is led by former Assistant Field Hockey Coach, Kim Keever, who has been integral in building the power of Limestone Field Hockey. Both teams will head into the game with a perfect 2-0 record for the start of their seasons.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12

DI: No. 2 UNC vs No. 3 Syracuse University
It is certain that the match-up between the University of North Carolina and Syracuse will be a great game as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opener for both teams. Both teams head into the game with a perfect 4-0 start to their seasons. Both Syracuse and UNC are perennial powerhouses that are looking to make a statement early in the season to carry them through to post season play. UNC has downed three top 20 opponents and is looking to take one more down, while Syracuse took down No. 5 Stanford. The winner of this game could be seen in the Final Four of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament.

DII: Southern New Hampshire vs No. 5 Stonehill
Southern New Hampshire is making quiet the statement in their second year of competition. So far this season they maintain a 2-1 record, falling only to Saint Michaels. Stonehill has opened their season on a losing streak. Could this be the first win for Stonehill this season or will it be an upset victory for Southern New Hampshire?

DIII: No. 3 Bowdoin vs No. 12 Amherst
The match-up between Amherst and Bowdoin is the first New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) match-up for both teams. Bowdoin fell to the College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the NCAA Championship Game in 2014 after winning the NCAA Division III Championship in 2013. However, the match-up between both teams is always close. In 2014, Bowdoin walked away with the conference win, while in 2013 Amherst took it home. The match-up could help us see if the NESCAC will get an at large bid this year to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

DI: No. 20 Princeton vs  No. 18 Delaware
Delaware is one of the few teams left that still maintains an undefeated record this season with a 3-1 win over Michigan State. Princeton has yet to get their first win of the season having only played two games. In 2014, the match-up between the two teams took the game into double overtime to reveal the winner. This could be another exciting game this year.

DIII: Scranton vs King's
Scranton and King's College will be a great match-up. Both teams will be battling for pride with both teams only 30 minutes from each other. In 2014, Scranton came out on top. Will 2015 be the year King’s College upsets Scranton or will Scranton still come out on top?

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

DI: Villanova vs Penn
The match-up between Villanova and Penn will be an exciting one for the Philadelphia region. Penn has come out on top in the past three years only by one goal. Without a doubt the game will be a close one. However, there is the chance that Villanova could pull the upset over Penn.

DIII: Eastern Mennonite vs Gettysburg
In 2014, the match-up between the two teams lead to a close game. Gettysburg earned the win by one goal. So far is 2015, Gettysburg has been undefeated. This year, Eastern Mennonite is under the new leadership of EA Jackson, who is looking to earn her first win. Could this be the game?

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

DI: Missouri State vs Saint Louis
The Battle of Missouri will be one to watch. So far in 2015, Missouri State has earned their lone win against Davidson College, while Saint Louis is looking to secure their first win of the season. Saint Louis is led by Hayley Rausch is in her second season and is looking for a repeat of her win against Missouri State from 2014.

DIII: Ferrum vs Bridgewater State
Ferrum is headed into their second field hockey season under the leadership of Carrie Hanshue Austin. So far this season, neither team has earned their first win. The match-up will be the first ever meeting of the two teams during regular season play. With both teams looking to make improvements to their seasons, the game will be one to watch.

USFHA media release

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