INDIANAPOLIS - The Salisbury University field
hockey team is in familiar territory as the Sea Gulls were selected
as one of four sites to host the second and third rounds of the
2007 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship which was
announced by the selection committee on Monday. This is the fifth
time in six seasons that the Sea Gulls have been selected as a
regional host.
Salisbury (18-1) won its 13th consecutive Capital Athletic
Conference title, received an at-large bid, and is making its 23rd
appearance in the last 24 years in the NCAA tournament. The CAC
does not have an automatic bid for its conference champion.
Salisbury, ranked No. 3 in the country, has won four national
championships (1986, 2003, '04, '05) and has made it to eight
championship rounds. SU will be making its 14th straight trip into
the NCAA tournament, which is the second longest streak in the
tournament behind The College of New Jersey's 27 straight trips.
Salisbury is 35-19 all-time in NCAA tournament games.
Christopher Newport University (16-2) will join the Sea Gulls in
the Salisbury regional this weekend (November 10-11). Salisbury and
CNU met in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament as the
Captains ended SU's impressive 12-game postseason winning streak
with a 2-1 overtime win at Lebanon Valley in the second round. CNU
is the only team to defeat Salisbury this season, a 2-1 road loss
on September 5.
The Sea Gulls and Captains receive first round byes as the two
teams wait to see who will win their respective first round games
on Wednesday, November 7. Salisbury will face the winner of New
England College (14-6) and Tufts University (12-4) at 11 a.m. on
Saturday, November 10 while CNU will face the winner of King's
(Pa.) College (15-4) and Springfield College (19-3) 40 minutes
after the completion of the first game. Three of the four first
round teams won their respective conference; King's (Freedom
Conference), New England College (Commonwealth Coast Conference)
and Springfield (New England Women's and Men's Athletics
Conference).
TCNJ (16-2), Lebanon Valley College (19-1) and top-ranked
Bowdoin College (16-0) are the three other regional hosts this
weekend in the 24-team field. Ursinus College (18-2), the defending
national champions, is the host for the national semifinals
(November 16) and national championship game (November 17) in
Collegeville, Pa. The Bears were assigned to the Lebanon Valley
regional for the second and third rounds. In addition to the host
schools, Ursinus and Christopher Newport the other two institutions
that received first round byes are Rowan University (14-4) and
Messiah College (14-4).
