ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. --- Elizabethtown College will be hosting Middle Atlantic Conference semifinals in men's and women's lacrosse this week, as the Blue Jay men will take on Widener University Wednesday and the women will entertain Lycoming College Thursday. Both games will begin at 4:00 p.m.
Both teams earned the top seed in their respective tournaments after winning outright regular-season championships. The Blue Jay women (13-4 overall, 12-0 MAC) finished in first place for the third time in the last four years, while the men (12-4 overall, 10-1 MAC) claimed their first-ever first-place finish.
Admission to all MAC playoff games is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and free for those under age 6.
In men's action, the Blue Jays are making their sixth appearance in the MAC semifinals in the last seven years, but are seeking their first-ever trip to the conference championship game. Last year, Elizabethtown defeated DeSales University 9-2 in the first round but was eliminated 10-8 by FDU-Florham in the semifinals.
Elizabethtown defeated Widener 10-8 in its regular-season finale as senior
Aaron Weber scored two goals and dished out four assists and led a five-goal run that erased a 5-4 deficit.
Weber leads the Blue Jays with 36 goals and 31 assists for 67 points, along with five game-winning goals. Three other players have cracked the 20-goal mark, as
Shawn Corcoran has scored 25 goals while
Jon Day and
Cory Boushell have 22 goals apiece.
The Blue Jay defensive presence is led by
Mike Kenneally, who has picked up 62 ground balls and leads the team with 31 caused turnovers.
Josh Dougherty has added 55 ground balls for the Blue Jays, while faceoff specialist
Brent Campbell has won 56 percent of his draws (162-of-289) and has a team-high 74 ground balls.
In goal,
Brendan Corcoran has started all 15 games and has a 7.04 goals against average and a .589 save percentage. Earlier this season, he had a scoreless streak of 86 minutes, 11 seconds that spanned parts of five games.
Widener (8-9 overall) finished sixth in the MAC with a 6-5 record but upset third-seeded Lycoming College 14-10 in the first round on Monday. Cory Malampy leads the Pride offense with 36 goals and 11 assists for 47 points, while five other players have reached double figures.
Nick Fluharty has won 57 percent of his faceoffs and leads the team with 88 ground balls, while Dave Simcox has 74 ground balls and 50 caused turnovers. In goal, Bobby Schluter has made 13 starts and has a 7-6 record with a 7.41 goals against average and a .545 save percentage.
The winner of Wednesday's game will play the winner of the other semifinal game between fifth-seeded Messiah College and second-seeded FDU-Florham for the MAC championship Saturday.
Even with injuries to no fewer than eight players throughout the year, including five different starters, the women completed an unbeaten MAC regular season schedule with a 17-3 win over Widener Saturday afternoon that gave the Blue Jays their 30th straight MAC regular-season victory dating to the 2008 season.
Despite their 40-1 mark in regular season play over the last four years, Elizabethtown is just 2-3 in the postseason during that span with all three losses coming by one goal.
Last season, the Blue Jays defeated Eastern University 19-7 in the semifinals but were upset at home by Messiah in the finals by a 6-5 score on a goal with 37 seconds left. Elizabethtown is seeking its third straight MAC finals appearance, having lost to FDU-Florham 15-14 in the 2008 title game.
Elizabethtown's balanced attack features a trio of 40-goal scorers and 10 players who have scored in double figures. In addition to scoring 40 goals,
Stephanie Kreis leads the MAC with 90 points and is among the NCAA Division III leaders with 50 assists.
Sarah Cullinan leads the Blue Jays with 43 goals, and
Katie Caprinolo has added 41 tallies.
Cullinan also leads the Blue Jays with 34 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers, while
Alexis Morris has had a strong rookie season with 26 ground balls, 25 draw controls and 23 caused turnovers on defense.
Rachael Waldman has compiled an 8.40 goals against average in 14 starts in goal and has made 100 saves.
Lycoming (10-7 overall) went 7-4 in MAC games and finished as the fifth seed in the playoffs, but won 10-8 at fourth-seeded Widener as Amanda Baker scored four goals, including the tie-breaking tally with 5:02 left.
Megan McIntyre is the Warriors' top scorer with 45 goals and 28 assists for 73 points, while Justine Titko has tallied 36 goals and Baker has chipped in with 32.
Sammi Jo Bell paces the Lycoming defensive effort with 46 ground balls, 47 draw controls and 24 caused turnovers, while Brittany Bryan has started all 17 games in goal and has made 148 saves with a 10.72 goals against average.
The winner of Thursday's game will square off with the winner of the semifinal game between third-seeded FDU-Florham and second-seeded Messiah for the championship on Saturday.