GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Gettysburg College field hockey team will make its eighth-straight appearance in the Centennial Conference playoffs when it hosts Washington College on Wednesday in a first-round game.
The fourth-seeded Bullets (9-8, 7-3 CC) will take on the fifth-seeded Shorewomen (8-9, 6-4 CC) on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium. The winner of the game will advance to the semifinals to take on top-seeded, third-ranked, and semifinal and final host Ursinus College (16-1, 10-0 CC) on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Third-seeded Haverford College (13-4, 8-2 CC) will play second-seeded Johns Hopkins University (11-6, 8-2 CC) in the second semifinal on Saturday.
The winner of the two semifinals will meet back at Ursinus in the championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The tournament winner receives an automatic bid in the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Bullets enter the playoffs on a four-game winning streak in which they have allowed just one goal.
“I think we are clicking well as a team right now and are doing really good things on both ends of the field,” said Gettysburg head coach
Barb Jordan. “I'm looking forward to the game on Wednesday – it will be tough but it's exciting to be in the tournament and to have another chance to play Washington.”
Wednesday's game will mark the third time Gettysburg and Washington will meet in the Centennial Conference tournament, with the Bullets taking each of the two previous games in 2001 and 2004. The Bullets are 5-6 all-time in the CC playoffs while Washington is 1-4.
When the two teams met at Washington during the regular season, the Shorewomen claimed a 3-1 decision despite being outshot 21-11. Goalie Shannon Davis was the difference, making 12 saves for Washington.
“I think one of Washington's strength is their speed, especially on the forward line,” said Jordan. “We will have to slow them down between the 25's. The last time we played I thought both teams played well – we had opportunities but Washington's defense held up well. This time we have to find a way to finish the opportunities we create for ourselves. It should be a great game.”
The Bullets are looking for their first Centennial Conference tournament win since topping McDaniel College 3-2 in overtime in 2005. Since the conference instituted a playoff tournament in 2000, the Bullets have reached the championship game three times, with their lone victory coming in 2001. Gettysburg has also won or shared Centennial titles in 1994, 1997, 1998, and 1999 and is second in the league for the most overall conference championships with five.
