SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -- Top-ranked Shippensburg clinched the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the 2013 PSAC championships on Tuesday with a 3-0 victory against No. 8 East Stroudsburg.
While Shippensburg (16-0, 9-0 PSAC) has solidified the top seed in next week's PSAC tournament, Millersville (No. 2 seed), West Chester (No. 3 seed) and Bloomsburg (No. 4 seed) have also clinched their respective seeds. East Stroudsburg (7-10, 4-5), Mercyhurst, Indiana (Pa.) and Kutztown will be vying for the final two playoff spots on Saturday.
SU and Millersville earned byes to the PSAC semifinals by virtue of their top-two seeds, while West Chester and Bloomsburg will host PSAC quarterfinal matches on Tuesday.
Senior goalkeeper Carenna Neely made two saves for her fourth shutout of the season.
No. 2 Millersville 2, Kutztown 0
MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Champayne Hess and Arianna Grays scored first half goals and the Millersville defense took care of the rest. The Marauders notched their ninth shutout and 16th win of the season in a 2-0 win against Kutztown on Tuesday.
Millersville (16-1, 8-1 PSAC) extended its winning streak to seven and also clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming PSAC tournament. Millersville closed its regular season home schedule with an 8-0 record and only one goal allowed in the 560 minutes of action on Chryst Field.
Hess' goal pushed her team-leading total to 10 and made her Millersville's first 10-goal scorer since Kristie Testa in 2009. Grays' seventh tally of the season gave her the most goals by a Marauder freshman since Jaclyn Kulesza's seven in 2004.
Senior Samantha Ruane and Hess hooked up for the game-winner just 3:50 into the game. Grays boosted the lead at the 30:30 mark when intercepted a pass and went one-on-one to beat goalkeeper Rachael Sanders.
Kutztown's scoring opportunities were few. The Golden Bears took three consecutive corners 10 minutes into the second half. Of the two shots taken, one was blocked and the other was turned away by Emily Litchford for a defensive save. Kutztown managed just one other shot on goal, and Lauren Sotzin made the stop for her eighth shutout of the season and 16th since the start of 2012.
No. 4 LIU Post 8, American International 1
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. -- Senior forward Carlee Dragon and graduate midfielder Dani Crouse accounted for 12 total points as fourth-ranked LIU Post overwhelmed Northeast-10 rival American International 8-1 on Tuesday afternoon.
With the win, the Pioneers remain unbeaten on the season with a 17-0 record, including a 9-0 mark in conference play. The Yellow Jackets fell to 7-10 overall and 2-7 in NE-10 action.
Freshman Meredith Stocklin picked up her 10th win of the season after playing the first half between the pipes, making three saves. On the other side, Kori Huffman turned aside 11 shots for AIC.
On the afternoon, the Pioneers outshot the Yellow Jackets, 23-7, and held a 12-7 advantage in penalty corners.
No. 5 West Chester 9, Mercyhurst 0
WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- Kelsi Lykens and Megan Callanan each scored twice to lead no.5 West Chester to a 9-0 victory against No. 10 Mercyhurst on a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Vonnie Gros Field.
After winning several corners in the opening minutes, freshman Marnie Kusakavitch opened the scoring for the second game in a row, slapping the ball into the back of the net, less than ten minutes into the contest.
Audree Bonavita made four saves in goal for West Chester in picking up her fourth consecutive shutout. Jess Wess made 14 stops in the Mercyhurst net.
No. 6 Bloomsburg 2, Indiana (Pa.) 1
INDIANA, Pa. -- An overtime goal from Laura Gerhard sent Bloomsburg to a 2-1 victory at Indiana (Pa.) on Tuesday afternoon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) competition.
The triumph secured a playoff berth for the Huskies in the upcoming PSAC tournament. Bloomsburg ranks fourth in the conference standings following Tuesday's play.
Gerhard's game winner came at the 79:22 mark and was set up by a penalty corner from Jaclyn Beasley. Beasley's pass from the right wing was deflected and Gerhard was able to push her shot to the left of the IUP keeper and give the Huskies victory.
With the win Bloomsburg improves to 11-6 on the year and 6-3 in PSAC play. IUP, meanwhile, falls to 7-10 and 4-5.
No. 7 Merrimack 1, No. 3 Stonehill 0
EASTON, Mass. -- Merrimack, ranked seventh in this week's coaches' poll and third in the NCAA North Regional rankings, handed 3rd-ranked Stonehill, ranked first in the region, its first loss of the season with a 1-0 victory.
Sophomore Madison Davis made 11 saves, including eight in the second half, to claim her fourth shutout of the season for Merrimack. In addition to breaking Stonehill's unbeaten start to the season at 16 games, it marks the first time the Skyhawks have been shutout since the Warriors accomplished the feat in last year's 5-0 NE-10 win in North Andover. It also snaps a string of ten consecutive regular season NE-10 wins for Stonehill and a stretch of eight consecutive home wins dating back to late last season.
Senior Jessica Otis scored the lone goal of the contest when she knocked in a pass from the right side by classmate Candace Waldie on a counter fast break with 11:25 left in regulation. Stonehill posted a 20-15 edge in shots for the contest, including a 15-5 margin in the second half, holding a 9-6 advantage for penalty corners, but was unable to break through.
