fh_championship

Championship Saturday Preview

Hornets and Hornets for 2019 ODAC Field Hockey Title

11/9/2019 8:19:00 AM

WINCHESTER, Va. – It's championship Saturday for the Shenandoah University field hockey team as it faces the University of Lynchburg for the ODAC Championship for the second time in as many years this evening.
 
Second-seeded Shenandoah (15-3), which tied its program-record for season wins with a 2-1 victory Friday night in the tournament semi-finals, seeks its second-ever ODAC title with the 6 p.m. meeting tonight versus top-seeded Lynchburg (17-3).
 
The Lynchburg Hornets are ranked No. 18 in the nation and advanced to the title game with a 3-0 victory over fifth-seeded Roanoke.
 
The regular season meeting was as close as close could be, with Lynchburg pulling out a 2-1 overtime win in Winchester on October 12.
 
Shenandoah is seeking its second-ever victory over its fellow set of ODAC Hornets. In 2016, on the very same Shellenberger Field where the game will be played tonight, SU downed Lynchburg 2-1 in the ODAC Tournament semi-finals on its way to its first-ever title.
 
The championship features the top two scoring teams in the league with both squads averaging 3.5 goals per game.
 
Defensively, SU leads the ODAC at 0.92 goals allowed per contest with Lynchburg second at 1.04.
 
Sophomore Kelsey Jones, the 2018 ODAC Rookie of the Year, leads Shenandoah in scoring with nine goals and 23 assists for 41 points.
 
Jones, the nation's leader in assists, set up senior Taylor Hayes with both goals in Friday's 2-1 win over W&L.
 
Hayes, the 2016 ODAC Rookie of the Year, has a team-high 15 goals this season. Jones and Hayes are Nos. 4 and 5 in the league, respectively, in scoring.
 
Lynchburg boasts the league's leading scorer as Jackie Lerro has 51 points on 19 goals and 13 assists.
 
In the goal, Isabella Morande has a league-best 1.00 GAA for Shenandoah with Lynchburg's Laurel Nicks second at 1.03.
 
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