Salisbury Returns to NCAA Field Hockey "Final Four"
November 18, 2002

For the second time in three years and the sixth time in the history of the program, the Salisbury University field hockey team has advanced to the NCAA’s “final four.” The Sea Gulls, 17-2 overall and ranked third in the nation, face #1 ranked Rowan (19-0) in the national semifinal Friday at noon in Springfield, MA. A victory would move SU into Saturday’s national championship game against either #2 Messiah or #4 New Jersey.

Friday, Nov.22            Noon               #3 Salisbury (17-2) vs. #1 Rowan (19-0)
                                    3 pm               #2 Messiah (17-3) vs. #4 New Jersey (13-2)

Saturday, Nov. 23        2 pm               National Championship Game

Tickets are $7, general admission;  $4 for students from the participating schools with a valid ID. A two-day ticket package is available for $10 (general admission) and $7 (students).

The Sea Gulls earned their ticket to Springfield with victories over New England College and Cortland State in last weekend’s regional playoffs. Junior Lindsey Elliott and sophomore Erin Budd scored two goals each to lead SU past New England, 6-1.  Lindsey Elliott, sister Brittany Elliott and senior Jess Manzone tallied markers in Salisbury’s 3-1 win over Cortland in Sunday’s rain-soaked regional final. Budd also tied an NCAA Division III Tournament record with three assists in that game.

“Its always a thrill and honor to get to the final four,” said Head Coach Dawn Chamberlin, now in her 16th season at Salisbury. “This team has worked very hard all season long and has played some excellent hockey, especially in the last couple of weeks. They showed a lot of heart and guts to win this past weekend. Certainly, the weather wasn’t ideal, but it was the same for everybody. We just played good hockey.”

The Sea Gulls carry a seven-game winning streak into Friday’s national semifinal and have outscored their opponents 31-6 during that span. Their last loss came at Rowan in mid-October, losing 2-0 to the top-ranked Profs.  SU’s other loss this season was 2-1 in overtime at Messiah. The Sea Gulls and New Jersey did not play in the regular season.

Salisbury has a 23-17 all-time record in NCAA Tournament competition, and won the national championship with a perfect 21-0 record in 1986.

“We are very proud and excited to be returning to the championship weekend,” said Chamberlin. “We set a number of goals before the season started and we’ve met all of those goals up to this point. The final goal is to win the national championship.”

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