Game Notes as PDF

THE POST-SEASON BEGINS
The Southern Connecticut State University field hockey team begins post-season play on Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. when it hosts Franklin Pierce in the first round of the Northeast-10 Tournament. The Owls are the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will also be playing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament this week. The league tournament semifinals are on Saturday at UMass-Lowell, with the championship game on Sunday at noon.

LOOKING AT THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The top three teams from the North Region will earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Currently, the top five teams in the region are all participating in the Northeast-10 Tournament, which means that spots and seedings are all still up for grabs with less than a week before the selection show.

OFFENSIVE CATALYSTS POWER FINAL WEEK SWEEP
Senior Whitney Martin and sophomore Sara Winterbottom have been the Owls' top two scorers throughout the vast majority of the 2008 campaign. Last week, the duo stepped up and combined for 16 points (six goals, four assists) as the team secured a first-round home game with a pair of wins over AIC and Merrimack.

SEVERAL SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS IN REACH
There are a handful of Owls who can move atop the all-time single-season chart in several different categories if the squad continues to put up strong offensive numbers and move forward as a team. Whitney Martin and Sara Winterbottom have each tallied 14 goals this year, which is two back of Angela Cafarelli's 2005 mark of 16. Ann Berry and Grace Martha are each one assist behind the single-season high of 11 assists, set by Cathy Cardini in 2005 and Erin Kelly in 1996. Martin is also three points back of the single-season point record of 39, which Cafarelli and Cardini each recorded in 2006. Lastly, Lauren Zarrella needs two wins to move atop the all-time single-season victories list. Casey Sanford won 13 games in 2005 to hold the mark.

STAYING PUT IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Owls remained in the No. 8 spot in last week's National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll. This week's poll comes out on Tuesday.

STONGA LEADS THREE WITH WEEKLY HONORS
Freshman Inga Stonga was named the Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week last Monday after scoring five points (two goals, one assist) in three games for the Owls last week. In addition, sophomore Ann Berry (eight points on the week) and senior Grace Martha (seven points) were also named to the weekly honor roll.

OWLS IN THE NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Owls remained at No. 3 in last week's NCAA North region rankings. The squad was No. 2 in the first poll of the year before dropping to No. 4 the following week and moving up one spot the week after that. The rankings are used to determine NCAA participants from each region. The top three teams move on to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

CARDIAC KIDS
Southern Connecticut has won its first three overtime decisions so far this year - each by 2-1 finals - as well as a win over Stonehill on Sept. 10 that was decided on a winning goal off a penalty corner after time had expired in regulation.

FINDING THE BACK OF THE NET
Offense hasn't been an issue for the Owls this season The team has scored at least two goals in 18 of its first 20 games, and has tallied at least five goals on six occasions - including a season-high six goal performance against Assumption on Oct. 14.

WINTERBOTTOM PROVING A NICE ADDITION
Sophomore Sara Winterbottom has been a steady contributor to the Owls' offensive cause this year. To date, she is tied for the team lead in goals with 14 and is second in points with 32. 

ON DECK
A strong showing in the Northeast-10 Tournament will likely allow the Owls to advance to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show for the NCAA Tournament will take place on Monday, November 3.