Albany Draws Penn State For NCAA Field Hockey First Round Contest

Field Hockey

Albany will take on fourth-seeded Penn State in the first round of the NCAA field hockey tournament Sunday after winning the America East title on Sunday.

Albany Draws Penn State For NCAA Field Hockey First Round Contest

Updated: November 09, 2012 9:11 am (ET)
by America East Communications

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INDIANAPOLIS - Just two days removed from winning its third America East field hockey title in five years, University at Albany has drawn fourth-seeded Penn State for the first round of the NCAA Championship. The Great Danes learned their fate during the NCAA selection show Tuesday evening on NCAA.com.

The Great Danes, which earned its NCAA berth with a 3-1 win over New Hampshire in the America East title game Sunday, will face the Nittany Lions in State College on Saturday. Game time is TBA. Syracuse and UMass will also play in State College with the two winners advancing to the quarterfinal round Sunday.

Albany (13-7), which also made NCAA appearances in 2008 and 2010, earned decisive wins over Maine and New Hampshire, respectively, in the America East Championship to earn is third-ever NCAA bid. Junior Daphne Voormolen, the championship's Most Outstanding Player, scored four times over the weekend, tying the tournament record, including three times in a 4-1 win over Maine in the semifinals, also tying the tournament record. The Great Danes, who are ranked 17th nationally, head into the tournament having won eight in a row by a combined score of 29-4.

Penn State (17-3), the nation's third-ranked team, won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles and is riding a seven-game win streak heading into Saturday's game.

America East has 11 all-time wins in the NCAA Field Hockey Championship, the last coming in 2007 when Boston U. beat Iowa, 1-0, in double overtime. Albany nearly pulled off an upset in 2010, taking Ohio State to overtime before falling 2-1.

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