Box Score BALTIMORE, Md. – Denison field hockey saw their impressive season come to an end on Saturday afternoon as they suffered a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Tufts University in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championships hosted at Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University. The Big Red finished the season at 17-4 overall. Tufts advances to play No. 6 Johns Hopkins on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the NCAA quarterfinals.
In the first quarter, both sides were held scoreless on each of their first shots on target from Claire Foley and Charlotte Godfrey. However, Tufts answered in the 15th minute when Marguerite Salamone scored off her own penalty corner when Sophie Schoeni dished her the pass and Salamone tallied the first score of the match to put the Jumbos ahead 1-0.
After Denison goalie Teya Adams kept Tufts off the board in the second quarter with three key saves, the Big Red entered the break looking to rebound from a 1-0 deficit.
Tufts opened the second half with back-to-back shots an penalty corners, with the second PC proving vital after Reegan McCluskey's blocked shot was sent in the cage from Beth Krikorian at 31:46 to increase Tufts' lead to 2-0.
Senior Charlotte Happel took the first shot of the fourth quarter, but the Jumbos posted three shots on goal in the frame, with the final attempt entering the cage off the stick of Salamone. The win moved Tufts to 15-4 overall while Denison recorded their third-straight season of 17 or more wins.
Godfrey posted both shots on goal for the Big Red while Happel added the team's third shot of the match. Adams finished with seven saves in a full 60 minutes of action in the cage.
Krikorian added four shots, including three on target, to her lone goal while Foley, Salamone, and Gillian Roeca also posted two shots each. Tufts goalie Andie Stallman recorded two saves in a full match effort.
Closing out the season at 17-4, the Big Red also finished at 7-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference and captured their third-straight NCAC regular season and tournament championships. The season was also highlighted by head coach P.J. Soteriades who secured the 200th win of her coaching career when Denison defeated Wittenberg 1-0 on Oct. 29. In 18 seasons at the helm of DU, Soteriades is the program's all-time leader in wins with a record of 204-147 (.581).
