2023 Centennial Conference Field Hockey Championship - First Round
No. 6 Ursinus (10-7, 5-5 Centennial) vs No. 3 Franklin & Marshall (10-7, 8-2 Centennial)
Tuesday, October 31st - 7:00 pm - Tylus Field, Lancaster, Pa.
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Centennial Conference Tournament
Ursinus is the No. 6 seed in the Centennial Conference Tournament and Franklin & Marshall is the No. 3 seed. The other first round game on Tuesday will be No. 5 Bryn Mawr at No. 4 Dickinson. The higher seeded quarterfinal winner will travel to face No. 2 Swarthmore on Thursday while the lower seeded quarterfinal winner will go to No. 1 Johns Hopkins.
Records
Ursinus holds a 10-7 overall record and a finished the regular season with a 5-5 mark in Centennial play. The Bears finished sixth in the Centennial regular season standings. Meanwhile, the Diplomats finished the regular season with an overall record of 10-7 and a 8-2 mark in Centennial play. Franklin & Marshall tied for second in the Centennial Conference regular season standings
Scouting the Bears
The Bears enter the postseason averaging 2.1 goals per game as a team which is tied for third in the Centennial. Junior Mary Lauren Franz ranks third in the conference with 10 goals while first-year Marie Brainard is just behind with eight goals to tie for seventh. Junior Maeve Montgomery paces the Centennial and is tied for second in all of NCAA Division III with 14 defensive saves. Sophomore goalkeeper Adriana Palladinetti ranks third in the Centennial with 77 saves.
Bears in the Playoffs
Ursinus has made the Centennial Conference tournament in all but one season since they began Centennial play in 2002. The Bears were not eligible for postseason play that season due to it being a transition year from going from Division I to Division III. The Bears have won the Centennial Conference 12 times in program history, including eight-straight times from 2004 to 2011. Ursinus last won the Centennial Conference title back in 2016 to complete a run of four-straight championships.
Scouting the Diplomats
The Diplomats built an eight game win streak midway through the season after starting 1-5. Franklin & Marshall have been stout on the defensive side of the field by allowing the third-fewest goals at 1.06 per game. F&M has strong scoring depth as well led by Jessica Miller who leads the team with seven goals. Sophie Carroll has six goals for the Diplomats to compliment Miller. Goalkeeper Meghan Dole has been dominant in net for the Diplomats by leading the Centennial Conference with 79 saves and is second with an .823 save percentage. Dole paces the league with six shutoouts
The Diplomats in the Playoffs
F&M is making its 17th all-time appearance in the Centennial Conference Tournament and have made the tournament in 10 of the last 11 seasons. The team has won two Centennial Championships during its program history in 2012 and 2017. F&M also made the Centennial Conference Tournament finals for nine straight years between 2011 to 2019.
Series History
The Bears hold a 25-14 all-time series edge over the Diplomats but F&M has won seven of the last eight meetings. These teams are no strangers to each other in the Centennial Conference Tournament as this will be the 12th all-time postseason meeting between the two teams with six coming in the championship game. Ursinus holds an 8-3 edge in postseason meetings.
Last Meeting
The Bears dropped a heartbreaker in a penalty shootout at home to the Diplomats on October 11th, 2-1. Ursinus forced overtime with a late second half goal by sophomore Gigi Testa and played in their first penalty shootout since transitioning to Division III. The Diplomats outscored the Bears 4-1 in the penalty shootout.
Ursinus Head Coach: Janelle Benner
Janelle Benner is in her 12th season as the head coach of Ursinus. Benner started as an associate head coach in 2010 before being promoted the following season in 2011. Benner has compiled a 163-74 overall record and an 93-27 Centennial Conference mark, including a perfect 10-0 standing in the conference in 2014. Benner has led the Bears to five CC championships, including four in a row from 2013 to 2016, and to six NCAA Tournament appearances. Ursinus reached the national semifinals in 2011 and 2015
F&M Head Coach: Kaitlyn Eager
Kaitlyn Eager is in her seventh season as the head coach of the of the Diplomats. She took the F&M program to new heights by taking them to the NCAA Tournament three times as head coach, including a national runner-up finish in 2019 and a final four appearance in 2017. Eager's career record with the Diplomats stands at 87-31. She was originally an assistant at F&M for six seasons from 2010 to 2015 and was a member of the 2012 coaching staff that won the program's first Centennial title.
Up Next
If Ursinus wins, the Bears will travel to face top seed Johns Hopkins on Thursday, November 2nd. If the Diplomats win, they will travel to face No. 2 seed Swarthmore on the same date.