Live Stats / PSAC Release / Slippery Rock Field Hockey

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INDIANA, PA – The IUP field hockey team enters postseason play for the first time since 2008 as the Crimson Hawks host Slippery Rock in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Field Hockey Tournament.

The Crimson Hawks (11-6, 7-3) make the tournament as the number two seed in the Western Division, with The Rock (6-12, 5-5) the third seed and Shippensburg (16-2, 10-0) receiving the first round bye as the top seed in the division.

Bloomsburg (17-0, 10-0), the top-ranked team in the nation, receives the number one seed in the Eastern Division with West Chester (14-3, 8-2) and C.W. Post (9-7, 4-6) getting seeds two and three, respectively. West Chester will host the Pioneers in the other quarterfinals matchup while Bloomsburg gets the bye.

The semifinals and championship game will be hosted by Shippensburg on Friday and Saturday, with the IUP-Slippery Rock winner facing Bloomsburg at 1:00 p.m. on Friday and the West Chester-C.W. Post winner playing the Lady Raiders 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

The winners will then play for the title at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, a game that, for the first time in league history, be televised live throughout the state on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.

IUP has split its two meetings this year with Slippery Rock, winning 4-1 at home on October 5 before falling on the road in the season finale this past Saturday, 2-1 in overtime.

The Crimson Hawks are 6-2 at George P. Miller Stadium this season, including a 5-1 mark against PSAC teams. Even with its winning record, IUP has been outscored this season 46-45, although that can be attributed to the 6-0 loss at the hands of second-ranked Shippensburg a few weeks ago.

The Crimson Hawks offense is led by Anouk Sickman (Antwerp, Belgium/Lazac Cellepe) and Shannon Sullivan (Pittsburgh/North Allegheny) two of the top goal-scorers in the PSAC. Sickman's 2.29 points per game ranks 10th in the nation while also ranking high in goals per game (0.88 – 11th) and assists per game (0.53 – 8th). She has scored a team-high 15 goals in 17 games, adding nine assists for a total of 39 points.

Sickman has had four multi-goal games this year, and has tallied three goals and an assist in the two games against The Rock this season.

Sullivan is right behind Sickman in each scoring category, scoring 14 goals with seven assists for a total of 35 points on the year. She ranks 13th in the nation in points per game, 14th in goals per game and 21st in assists per game.

Sullivan has six multi-goal games this year and has scored at least five points on three different occasions. She's scored two goals against The Rock this year, with both coming in the win on October 5. Her .318 shooting percentage is tops on the team, getting her 14 goals on just 44 shots.

Jullian Duld has also shown she can score, getting six goals and six assists this year for a total of 18 points, good for third.

Brittany Varacallo (New Britain/Central Bucks South) and Sarah Lemieux (Dublin, OH/Dublin Coffman) have split time in the cage for IUP this season, as they have alternated starts each game with the other entering in the second half.

Varacallo has gone 6-2 this year, playing in over 632 minutes with 50 saves and a 3.84 goals against average. Lemieux is 5-4 with 54 saves in 583 minutes, posting a 2.93 goals against average.

Slippery Rock's leading point-scorer this season is Skylar Brosse with nine, scoring four goals and adding an assist. She hasn't shot much but has been extremely efficient, scoring her four goals on just six shots on the cage. 

Gabrielle Malishchak, the reigning PSAC athlete of the week, scored seven points for The Rock, getting two goals and three assists, while Lindsay Brown and Rebecca Williams each have scored three points apiece.

Courtney Lee has seen the most action in the cage for Slippery Rock, posting a 6-6 record and 42 saves with a 2.11 goals against average.

This is the eighth time that IUP has made the PSAC tournament, garnering berths in 2000, and 2003-08, with a conference title coming in 2007. The Crimson Hawks are 19-6 all-time against Slippery Rock, with this being the first postseason matchup between the two schools.