D-III Women's Lacrosse Comes to Salem
First Time Event Features Four Top-Talent Teams
May 15, 2008

SALEM, Va. --- Virginia’s “Championship City” has awarded 50 NCAA Division II or Division III championships throughout its storied history, but this weekend welcomes a new event to Salem for the second time in as many years.  In conjunction with the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), the City of Salem welcomes NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse for the 2008 National Championship!  Donald J. Kerr Stadium at Roanoke College provides the perfect venue as it opens its gates for its first national championship, providing the four teams making the trip to Salem a first-class game facility as part of their memorable championship experience.

Play begins with a pair of semifinal contests on Saturday, May 17, with a star-studded field of powerful women’s lacrosse programs.  Franklin & Marshall College and Salisbury University were the final two teams standing on Championship Sunday 2007 with F&M winning the program’s first women’s lacrosse national title.  Although making its first national semifinal appearance, Hamilton College was just one win away from being one the final four teams in action last May.  On the opposite end of the spectrum is one of the most championship-experienced programs one will find in any sport at any level in The College of New Jersey.

The numbers speak for themselves for TCNJ.  The Lions (17-1) have played in 23 of the possible 24 national women’s lacrosse finals, winning 12 NCAA D-III championships and finishing as the runner up another five times.  With all that history behind it, TCNJ comes into Salem with a little something to prove.  The Lions were denied a spot in the 2007 national semifinals, marking the first time they hadn’t been one of the final four teams in the recorded history of the tournament (since 1985).  TCNJ’s only set-back this season came to finals cohort Salisbury in an 11-10 overtime decision.  Outside of that, the nation’s top-rated defense at 5.47 goals against per game surrendered five or fewer tallies 10 times.  Goalkeeper Caitlin Gregory spearheads the effort as she leads the country with a 5.95 goals-against-average.  The Lions’ offense cannot be forgotten as reigning ECAC Division III Metro Player of the Year, Karen Doane, leads the nationally 24^th rated offense into action.

TCNJ’s Gregory is not the only high-profile goalkeeper in the tournament.  In fact, four of the top five nationally ranked net-minders in goals-against-average will lineup between the pipes this weekend.  TCNJ’s semifinal opponent, defending champion Franklin & Marshall, starts Lidia Sanza in net.  The Diplomats’ (16-1) sophomore is second in the nation with a 6.14 GAA.  F&M boasts the nation’s second-best defense, having lost only once, also to Salisbury.  The Diplomats’ offense is a little more potent than TCNJ’s, rated 14^th in the nation at 15.74 goals per game.  Playmakers Blake Hargest and Shannon Summers set the offense into motion better than most, an edge that Jen Pritchard took advantage of to average a hair better than 3.5 goals per game.  Summers sits 12^th in the country with 45 total assists.

A highly efficient balance on both halves of the field has helped Hamilton arrive in Salem with only one loss in its 2008 campaign.  The Continentals (19-1) sit fourth in scoring defense (6.3 goals against per game) and 10^th in scoring offense (15.95 goals for per game).  Kallie Briscoe grabs all the offensive headlines for Hamilton, ranking 7^th in the nation in total points with 101 and 29^th in points scored per game at 5.05.  She is also 15^th in assists with 39.  Goalkeeper Kate Fowler keeps the net clear with a nationally-third- ranked 6.42 goals against average.  The Continentals lone loss came to Franklin & Marshall in their third game of the season.  Having won 17 straight games since, Hamilton would be the hottest team coming into the tourney had it not been for its semifinal opponent, Salisbury.

Salisbury (22-0) hasn’t lost since its 11-8 set-back to F&M in last year’s national title game, making it the only undefeated team in the country.  The Sea Gulls bring one of the nation’s most dynamic offenses to Salem as they sit tops in the nation in points recorded with 647.  They out-score their opponents by 12.8 goals per game, best in NCAA D-III, and hold foes to 6.38 goals per game, the fifth-best mark in the country.  The question no team has been able to answer all season is how to shutdown Sue Ackermann.  The senior attack has notched 149 points and 69 assists, both ranking first and second in the nation, respectively.  Jessica Chmielewski (90 points) and Beth Rhodey (73 points) form a potent trio with Ackermann at the top.  Goalkeeper Sonja Stuart maintains a 6.78 goals-against-average, fifth best in the country.

Make your way to Kerr Stadium for any or all of the 2008 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship.  The first of two semifinal games begins at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, with the latter game starting at 2:30 p.m.  The national championship game is set for Sunday, May 18, at 12:00 p.m., and will be televised live by CBS College Sports.  Please visit the online home of the tournament at http://www.odaconline.com/div3wlax for more information.