WALTHAM, Mass. -- For the sixth consecutive year, and the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, the Bentley University field hockey team has been selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Championships.
Coach Jessica King's team, which captured the Northeast-10 Conference championship on Sunday, was seeded second in the North Region and will host conference-rival University of Massachusetts Lowell (16-5) Saturday afternoon in a first-round game.
The winner of that game will make the short trip to Stonehill College, which will host the final two rounds of the tournament Nov. 13 and 15, and will take on the 17-4 Skyhawks in a national semifinal game Nov. 13 at 5 pm (change of time).
In the other half of the bracket, defending champion and top-ranked Bloomsburg University (20-1) will await the winner of Saturday's game between Shippensburg University (19-2) and East Stroudsburg University (14-6).
Bentley will enter its 12th NCAA Division II tournament with a 16-4 overall record after winning 10th of its last 11 (and 15 of its last 17). Over the weekend, the Falcons avenged three of those losses by besting UMass-Lowell, 1-0, and Stonehill, 2-1, to repeat as Northeast-10 playoff champions.
This will mark the fourth straight year that Bentley and Lowell will square off in the NCAA tournament. The Falcons won 4-0 in the 2006 semifinals and UMass Lowell has won in the same round each of the last two seasons, 2-1 in OT in 2007 and 3-2 a year ago.
NCAA DIVISION II FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
First Round - Saturday, November 7
North: #3 UMass-Lowell (16-5) at #2 Bentley, 1 pm
South: #3 East Stroudsburg (14-6) at #2 Shippensburg, 1 pm
Semifinals - Friday, November 13 - at Stonehill
North: #1 Stonehill (17-4) vs. Bentley/UMass-Lowell winner, 5 pm
South: #1 Bloomsburg (20-1) vs. East Stroudsburg-Shippensburg winner, 2 pm
Championship - Saturday, November 15 -at Stonehill
1 pm
