ANNVILLE, PA: (Oct. 16, 2010) - Current Division III leading scorer Jocelyn Novak registered her fifth straight hat trick as #2 Lebanon Valley College blanked the Arcadia University Knights 8-0 in today's Commonwealth Conference Field Hockey match-up in Annville, Pa. Today's loss, just the second time the Knight's have been held scoreless all season, is now paired with a 2-0 loss at home to King's back on Sept. 22.
Lebanon Valley, who vaulted two spots to #2 in this week's Kookaburra/NFHCA Division III National Coaches' poll, occupy their highest spot in the rankings since 2007. The Dutchmen (14-0, 3-0 CC), ranked fourth last week, leaped ahead of conference foe Messiah (9-2), which remained at #3. The Knights (8-7, 1-3 CC) will face #3 Messiah in Commonwealth Conference play on Oct. 23 in Grantham, Pa.
Notably, Dutchmen forward Jocelyn Novak became the program's all-time leader in points and goals earlier this week. Lebanon Valley has the nation's top-rated offense, averaging 6.3 goals per game with the national leaders in scoring (Novak, 28 goals and 60 points) and assists (Caitlin Vasey, 21).
For the Knights, whose record still remains above .500 overall, senior defensive leader Ashley McCarthy (Norristown, PA/Norristown Area) responded to her biggest challenge of the season, in facilitating the Knights' defensive unit presence against the nation's second best team. McCarthy responded for 70 minutes along with a solid midfield presence from first year Ashley Ditchey (Nicholson, PA/Lackawanna Trail).
Senior Adrianne Altera (Califon, NJ/Voorhees) would finish 70 minutes of playing time registering both of Arcadia's 2 shots on goal. Sophomore keeper Sarah Baumgardner (Hatboro, PA/Upper Moreland), playing in her 9th game of the season, made her second consecutive start, entering today's game with a 1.23 goals against average. The Knights starter finished today's game after making 13 saves on the Dutchmen's 22 shots on goal and still holds one of the top four goals against averages in the Commonwealth, now at 1.55. But LVC capitalized on two rebounds left as bait for the Dutchmen, the first on the game's opening score at 7:28 and the second coming in the 27th minute that gave LVC a 5-0 lead.
