PSAC Championship Central

COVERAGE
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INDIANA, PA – After its first postseason win in program history on Tuesday, the Crimson Hawks will head to Lock Haven to play West Chester in the semifinals of the 2013 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Women's Lacrosse Championships this weekend.

Both semifinal games will be played on Friday with the conference championship scheduled for Saturday.

Seeded third in the PSAC entering the tournament, IUP disposed of sixth-seeded Gannon on Tuesday by a score of 19-10. It was the second straight win for the Crimson Hawks over the Golden Knights, including an 18-10 victory in the regular season finale last Saturday.

The Crimson Hawks fell to West Chester 15-8 in the regular season. It was the first loss of the year for IUP and its only home loss of the year. IUP has never defeated West Chester in its history, spanning 20 previous meetings. 

IUP enters the weekend with a 13-2 overall record, by far the best season in program history. The 13 wins bests the old school record of 11, which was set in 2011 and tied in 2012. The Crimson Hawks also opened the year with 11 straight victories, the best winning streak in program history. They are also ranked 12th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA).

Their 17.0 points per game entering the PSAC championship ranked fifth in Division II while their 12.93 caused turnovers per game was third.

The Crimson Hawks are led offensively by conference player of the year candidate Alexa Lodovici (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional). The senior is IUP's all-time leading scorer and has 55 goals and 46 assists this season for a total of 101 points. She leads the conference with 6.73 points per game and is second with 3.67 goals per game and 3.07 assists per game.

Colleen Berlin (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame) is second on the team with 46 goals and 50 points while Drew Hayden (Gibsonia/Pine Richland) (31 goals), Michelle Zakrzewski (Purcellville, VA/Loudoun Valley) (29) and Sarah Ward (Murrysville/Franklin Regional ) (22) are also 20-goal scorers for the Crimson Hawks.

Defensively IUP is led by Taylor Norwood (Chantilly, VA/Chantilly) and Paige Beierschmitt (Eastampton Township, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional). Norwood leads the PSAC and is third in the NCAA with 2.21 caused turnovers per game while Beierschmitt has picked up a conference-best 2.93 ground balls per game.

Kaitlin Sterling (Cranberry Twp./Seneca Valley) and Chelsey Hipp (Clarksville, MD/Good Counsel) have split time in goal for the Crimson Hawks as IUP is third in the PSAC with an 8.27 goals against average. They rank third and fourth, respectively, in the conference in individual goals against average while Sterling is second with a .479 save percentage.

Action is set to get underway on Friday with fifth-seeded Bloomsburg facing top-seed Lock Haven at 1:00 p.m. IUP will then battle West Chester at 4:00 p.m. The winners will face each other in the championship on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Tickets are $7 for adults and $2 for students. PSAC students with a valid student ID are free.