W&L Joins Hornets as Regionally Ranked Pair in Field

SALEM, Va. --- With just a few non-conference games left to play in the 2006 field hockey regular season, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) announces the seedings and first round pairings for the its annual postseason tournament.

Regionally ranked Lynchburg College (14-2 overall, 8-0 in the ODAC) and Washington & Lee University (13-5, 7-1) occupy the top two seeds in the ODAC field hockey playoffs, respectively.  The two squads squared off in a classic battle last night with the Hornets pulling out a 3-2 triumph in double-overtime and securing the tourney's top spot.

Rounding out the remaining six seeds in field are Eastern Mennonite University (11-5, 6-2), Virginia Wesleyan College (9-7, 5-3), Randolph-Macon College (8-8, 4-4), Bridgewater College (5-11, 3-5), Roanoke College (3-12, 2-6), and Sweet Briar College (2-12, 1-7).

Lynchburg, rated fourth in the South Region of the latest NCAA poll, boasts the conference's top scoring offense with 46 goals scored in league play and 67 tallies overall.  Freshman Allie Weir, provider of the game-winning goal against the Generals, sit atop the conference fixtures in points (51) and goals scored (22).  She is joined by teammates Laura Christianson (29 pts, 13 goals) Samantha Howard (29, 9) in the top five in conference points collected.

W&L, maintained the sixth position in the same regional poll, matched the Hornets' total of fewest goals allowed at eight in conference play, but the two foes also equaled themselves in overall scores allowed at 21.  The Generals offense notched 52 goals on the season (31 in conference) with sophomore Christina Merchant leading the way with nine tallies.

The first round of the ODAC tournament is set to begin on Saturday, October 28.  The pairings for those games are listed below with the higher seed serving as the home squad.  The tournament continues with the semi-finals on Friday, November 3, and the championship on Saturday, November 4.  Both the semi-final and championship rounds will be played at the site of the highest remaining seed following the first round contests.

ODAC Field Hockey Postseason Tournament
October 28  -  November 3  -  November 4

First Round - Saturday, October 28
#8 Sweet Briar at #1 Lynchburg - 2:00 p.m.
#5 Randolph-Macon at #4 Virginia Wesleyan - 1:30 p.m.
#6 Bridgewater at #3 Eastern Mennonite - 3:00 p.m.
#7 Roanoke at #2 Washington & Lee - 1:00 p.m.
 
*Game times may be tentative