Wooster Hosting NCAA Game Again, as Scots to Welcome 16th-Ranked Juniata

For the second year in a row, The College of Wooster has been selected as a first-round host for the NCAA Div. III Championships, as the Fighting Scots will welcome Juniata College (17-4), ranked No. 16 in the final National Field Hockey Coaches Association regular season poll, to Andrew Turf Field at John P. Papp Stadium Wednesday, Nov. 10. Game time is set for 2 p.m. EST. Wooster earned an automatic berth into the 24-team national field by way of winning last week's North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, while Juniata was crowned champions of the Landmark Conference Tournament. Wednesday's winner will move on to face No. 2 ranked Ursinus College (18-1) at Collegeville, Pa., on Saturday, Nov. 13, in a round of 16 match-up.

NCAA Tourney Notes: Wooster is making a third-straight NCAA appearance and ninth overall, and the Scots are 2-8 in such games. One of the victories came just last season when Wooster hosted and defeated Hamilton College 2-1 before falling to the eventual national champs, Salisbury University, by a 4-0 count. The other win came in 1985, when the Scots advanced via a stroke-off against the State University of New York at Cortland. That put them in the quarterfinals where they lost to Drew University 1-0, and Wooster earned a spot in the tourney again in 1986, capping a four-year stretch of appearances (1983-86). The Scots were also in the NCAA's in 1996 and 2001, falling to Cortland State (3-0) and William Smith College (4-1), respectively, before they're current run started with a first-round loss to Stevens Institute of Technology (2-1) in 2008.

Ticket Info: Ticket prices for Wednesday's NCAA Div. III Field Hockey Championship game are $5 for adults and $3 for students.

NCAC Tournament Recap: Despite being seeded No. 2 via its 10-2 league record during the regular season, Wooster won the NCAC Tournament for the third year in a row.

On Nov. 3, a first-half goal by Clare Nelson-Johnson (Wilmette, Ill. / Loyola Academy) turned out to be all the Scots would need to advance out of the semifinal round of the NCAC tourney, as they got past got past third-seeded Kenyon College 1-0 at Papp Stadium. Nelson-Johnson actually had a couple of good early looks, but it was her fourth shot that was true when she slapped in a well-placed cross from Kate Valora (Mt. Laurel, N.J. / Lenape Regional) coming with 11:26 to play in the opening half. Wooster continued to pressure Kenyon throughout, but was unable to pad its lead, despite an 18-5 advantage in shots and 14-6 in penalty corners. Statistically, goalie Liz Plumley (Crestwood, Ky. / North Oldham) was credited with three saves during the shutout effort.

On Nov. 6, Stephanie Standera (Penfield, N.Y. / Penfield) cracked a penalty corner through the defense with :14 left in regulation, lifting the Scots to the NCAC Tournament championship as they edged arch-rival Wittenberg University 4-3 during a back-and-forth at Springfield, Ohio. During the opening 35 minutes, Wittenberg had the upper hand and struck twice for a 2-1 lead at the half, but Wooster would control much of the second-half action, first evening the score shortly after it started when Eileen Barrer (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer) finished off a pass from Amanda Artman (Shaker Hts., Ohio / Shaker Heights). The Scots would take their initial lead via Nelson-Johnson's second goal of the tournament, only to see the Tigers even it back up just 1:21 later. The score remained 3-3 for a 10-minute stretch and with the clock winding down, Wooster earned a late corner and converted as Standera's blast off of a free hit from Barrer found its mark.

All-Tournament Team: For her standout defensive play last week, freshman back Josie Rey (Oak Park, Ill. / Oak Park & River Forest) was selected MVP of the NCAC Tournament. In addition to the shutout of Kenyon, Wooster held Wittenberg's high-powered offense in check, with Rey recording a key first-half defensive save. Joining her on the all-tourney team were senior forward Amanda Artman (Shaker Hts., Ohio / Shaker Heights), senior back Nina Dine (Tuckahoe, N.Y. / E.C. Fieldston School), and senior midfielder Stephanie Standera (Penfield, N.Y. / Penfield).

Like Mother, Like Daughter: Wooster sophomore 'keeper Liz Plumley (Crestwood, Ky. / North Oldham) now has something else in common with her mother, Laura Plumley. Plumley's mom started in an NCAA Div. III Tournament game, also at goalie. In fact, the former Laura Cianciulli helped Franklin & Marshall College's 1981 squad advance to the national championship game where they fell 2-0. The 1981 tourney was the the very first for NCAA field hockey and the field consisted of six teams.

Milestone Year: The Wooster field hockey program has reached a couple of notable milestones this season, both as a team and individually. With a 2-1 victory at Denison University Oct. 23, the Scots became the eighth in NCAA Div. III history to record 500 all-time wins, and they also became the first North Coast Athletic Conference school to reach 200 league wins. Senior standout Amanda Artman (Shaker Hts., Ohio / Shaker Heights) became the sixth in Div. III history to record 100 career goals when she scored early in the Oct. 28 game against Oberlin College, and in the next outing against Earlham College Oct. 30, she became just the fourth to hit 250 career points. Artman currently has 257 (104 goals, 49 assists).

This and That: Juniata and Wooster have played three times previously and the Eagles have taken all three, with the most recent being a 2-1 decision on Oct. 21, 2006. Amanda Artman (Shaker Hts., Ohio / Shaker Heights) was a freshman that year and accounted for the Scots' lone goal ... Wooster's 86 goals as a team makes this the second-most prolific scoring offense in school history ... In addition to Artman, who is Wooster's all-time leading scorer, fellow senior Eileen Barrer (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Pioneer) has also steadily moved up the team's scoring charts. She is currently third in points (126) and fourth in goals (51) ... The Scots are 14-3 in games played on the turf (Sprinturf) at Papp Stadium, which was installed during the summer of 2009.