Cape Cod, MA --- The Worcester State field hockey team has been tabbed as the fifth seed and will travel to #4 Smith College on Wednesday to play in the opening round of the ECAC Division III New England Field Hockey Tournament at 2 PM.
For the Lancers, it marks their seventh ECAC Tournament berth and their first since the 2011 season.
The rest of the bracket includes top-seeded Plymouth State and #2 University of New England, who received first round byes. #3 Bridgewater State will entertain sixth-seeded Framingham State in the other quarterfinal match-up.
Should the Blue and Gold defeat the Pioneers, they will travel on Saturday to Plymouth State for the semifinal round at 11 AM. The championship will also be on Sunday in Plymouth, NH at high noon.
Worcester State (11-8) brings a formidable offense into the matchup as the Lancers broke team records for goals (64), assists (44) and points (144).
Junior Kelli McPherson (Mansfield, MA) leads the charge with balanced totals of 11 tallies and 10 assists for a team-best 32 points while sophomore Julie O'Rourke (Worcester, MA/St. Peter-Marian) has dished out a school-record 13 assists for the third-highest total in the Little East Conference.
Freshman Katelyn Carmody (Shelburne Falls, MA) impresses with nine goals and eight helpers while junior Katelyn Abber (Dedham, MA) has pitched in with 10 markers.
Defensively, senior net minder Allison Romano (E. Bridgewater, MA) has 11 wins to her credit and six shutouts as McPherson has added two of WSU's seven defensive saves.
The Lancers have made six ECAC Tournament appearances in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011, but are still in search of their first victory as they are 0-6 all-time.
The Pioneers (11-8) are propelled by senior sensation Allie Stein (Ann Arbor, MI) who leads the NCAA Division III in points per game (3.89) while she is second nationally in goals per game (1.58). She boosts totals of 30 goals and 72 points to reset the previous program standard.
Senior Alexa DeJesus (Somerset, MA) and junior Rebecca Meagher (Acton, MA) have also both recorded eight tallies each. Sophomore Kat Estes (Falmouth, MA) has three of the squads eight defensive stops on the campaign.
The ECAC appearance marks the first for Smith since 1989 as they also were the tournament finalists in 1984.
Both squads lost in the quarterfinal of their respective conference tournaments. WSU was blanked 4-0 by eventual champion Keene State while Smith was beaten 3-0 by MIT.
The matchup also marks the first time the two programs have ever faced off against each other.
Between the top three seeds, Plymouth State, the University of New England, Bridgewater State have claimed four of the last six championships. The Panthers won it all last season and in 2010, the Nor'Easters edged PSU, 3-2, in overtime during the 2009 season and the Bears hoisted the championship banner in 2007.
2013 ECAC Division III New England Field Hockey Tournament Bracket
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