#3 Field Hockey Faces Providence In BIG EAST Semifinals

BIG EAST SEMIFINALS No. 3 Syracuse (16-1, 6-0) vs. Providence (9-8, 3-3)
Game Details	Friday, Nov. 2 \| Louisville, Ky. \| 5 p.m. Trager Stadium \| Tickets \| Directions
Game Coverage	BIG EAST Championship Central \| Bracket Watch \| Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse \| #cusefh Facebook: /SUFieldHockey
Syracuse Links	Game Notes \| Roster \| Schedule \| Stats
Providence Links	Roster \| Schedule \| Stats

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 3 ranked Syracuse field hockey team (16-1, 6-0 BIG EAST) looks to capture its third straight BIG EAST Tournament championship this week in Louisville, Ky. The top-seeded Orange plays No. 4 seed Providence (9-8, 3-3) in the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m. No. 2 seed and No. 5 nationally-ranked Connecticut plays third-seeded and No. 25 nationally Louisville in the other semifinal on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
• The winners of Friday's semifinal games will play for the conference championship on Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be played at Louisville's Trager Stadium.
• Syracuse won its third BIG EAST regular season title in the last four years when it defeated UConn, 3-2, last Saturday at J.S. Coyne Stadium.
• The Orange is ranked No. 3 in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll for the third week after spending three consecutive weeks at No. 1. After a No. 7 preseason ranking, Syracuse was ranked No. 2 for three weeks in a row previously.

GAME COVERAGE
• All games will be webcast live on BIGEAST.tv. Free live stats will also be available via BIGEAST.org. Links to both will be provided at SUAthletics.com.
• Fans can also follow the Orange on Twitter.com/cuse, the official Twitter home of Syracuse Athletics, or search #cusefh, as well as on Facebook at Facebook.com/SUfieldhockey.

SU IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
• The Orange is making its 22nd and final appearance in the BIG EAST Championship, as it will join the ACC in 2013. Syracuse has a 16-15 record overall and 7-2 under Ange Bradley with three titles: 2008, 2010 and 2011.
• Syracuse won its sixth BIG EAST Championship tournament title on Nov. 6, 2011 with a 3-2 victory against Connecticut. After going 5-1 in BIG EAST play during the regular season, the Orange secured the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
• SU shut out No. 3 seed Villanova in the semifinals, 3-0 before defeating top-seeded Connecticut, 3-2, in the championship game.

ORANGE LEASHES HUSKIES
• No. 3 Syracuse captured its third BIG EAST regular season title in the last four years, defeating No. 4 Connecticut, 3-2, in the regular season finale on Saturday at J.S. Coyne Stadium.
• It was fitting on Senior Day at Coyne Stadium that two of the Orange's goals came from those honored in a ceremony prior to the game. Graduate student Liz McInerney scored the game's first goal and senior captain Kelsey Millman recorded the second, putting the Orange ahead for good.
• Freshman Gillian Pinder scored the Orange's third goal with 7:53 remaining, giving the home team a 3-1 lead, and that proved to be the difference as the Huskies scored with 4:48 remaining to make it a one-goal game but could not get the equalizer.

REGULAR SEASON SUCCESS
• Syracuse's 16-1 regular season record tied the program record for fewest losses with 2008, when SU went 18-1 before finishing 22-2 in the Final Four. 2012 is also the second-best winning percentage (.941) behind only 2008 (.947).
• The Orange started the season 12-0, the second-best start in program history.
• The last time SU started 12-0 was in 2008 when it went on to start 14-0 on the way to a BIG EAST Championship and NCAA Final Four appearance.

BRADLEY REACHES MILESTONE
• Head Coach Ange Bradley recorded her 100th win at Syracuse with a 4-1 victory vs. No. 13 Stanford on Oct. 12 in Amherst, Mass., reaching the milestone in just her 123rd game, making her the second-fastest in Syracuse history in any current varsity sport behind men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim (117 games) and ahead of the men's lacrosse coach John Desko (133 games).
• Now in her sixth season with the Orange, Bradley is currently 103-23 at Syracuse and 238-84-2 overall in her 16-year career.

ORANGE AT NO. 3
• Syracuse is ranked No. 3 for the third straight week in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll after spending the previous three weeks at No. 1. The Orange received 780 points and four first-place votes this week, behind No. 1 North Carolina (865 points, 33 first-place votes) and No. 2 Princeton (821 points, six first-place votes). Penn State took over the No. 4 spot, jumping ahead of No. 5 Connecticut.

TOP STREAK REACHES 52 WEEKS
• The Orange has now been ranked in the top 10 of the NFHCA poll for 52-straight weeks, dating back to Aug. 28, 2008.
• The Orange was ranked No. 1 for three weeks this season after spending three weeks at No. 2 and debuting at No. 7 in the preseason poll.
• Syracuse was No. 5 in the preseason poll in 2011 and spent nine of 11 weeks in that fifth position before finishing the season ranked No. 3 in the final poll.

VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Syracuse is a perfect 8-0 against ranked teams this season.
• Syracuse is 41-51 against ranked teams since 2007, but is an impressive 15-4 in its last 19. SU is 8-0 in 2012 and was 7-4 last season, including a 3-2 win over No. 4 Connecticut in the BIG EAST Championship game.
• The Orange is 17-31 against top 10 teams since 2007.

SERIES VS. PROVIDENCE
• Syracuse is 20-7-5 all-time against Providence and has won the last seven meetings, including this season's regular season match-up.
• Leonie Geyer, Kelsey Millman and Stephanie Hussey scored goals to lead No. 1 SU to a 3-0 win at the Friars on Oct. 6. The Orange held a 22-9 shot advantage.
• Syracuse is 4-0 against PC in BIG EAST Tournament games.

SERIES VS. UCONN
• Syracuse is 9-26-1 all-time against Connecticut, but the Orange has had the upper hand in recent years, winning six of the last eight match-ups, including this year's regular season finale.
• Syracuse captured its third BIG EAST regular season title in the last four years, No. 4 UConn, 3-2, last Saturday at Coyne Stadium.
• In the 2011 BIG EAST Championship at Coyne Stadium, SU built a 3-0 lead in the first 19 minutes with goals from Lauren Brooks, Liz McInerney and Martina Loncarica, before winning 3-2. All of the games goals were scored in the first 26 minutes as the teams battled to a scoreless second half.

SERIES VS. LOUISVILLE
• Syracuse is 7-3 all-time against Louisville and has won the last five meetings, including this season at Coyne Stadium.
• Lauren Brooks, Stephanie Hussey and Leonie Geyer scored in the No. 1 Orange's 3-0 win on Sept. 29 in Syracuse. SU outshot U of L, 18-8, and Leann Stiver made three saves for the shutout in goal.

BIG EAST DOMINANCE
• Syracuse's current senior class is 23-1 in BIG EAST Conference games, including perfect 6-0 marks in 2009, 2010 and 2012, and has outscored its conference foes, 113-27.
• The Orange is 31-5 in BIG EAST games under Ange Bradley.
• Syracuse won its eighth BIG EAST regular season title and third in the last four years in 2012, going 6-0.

FRESHMEN TAKE BIG EAST HONORS
• Syracuse's Liz McInerney and Gillian Pinder were both recognized for their efforts in the No. 3 Orange's 3-2 victory vs. No. 4 Connecticut on Saturday that clinched Syracuse the BIG EAST regular season title by being named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Monday.
• Pinder, a freshman from Dublin, Ireland, assisted on the Orange's second goal and scored the third to lead SU to the victory. The BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week from Oct. 22 set up Kelsey Millman's goal before scoring her own that proved to be the difference vs. the Huskies, a tip-in on a pass from Jordan Page.
• McInerney scored the game's first goal, pouncing on a rebound and scoring her fifth of the season to give the Orange the early lead. She also helped lead the defensive effort and helped generate the SU attack through the midfield.
• McInerney and Pinder represent the 10th and 11th time a Syracuse player has been named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll this season. The Orange has also had three offensive players of the week - one each for McInerney and Pinder - as well as three defensive players of the week.

STIVER STYMIES OFFENSES
• Senior goalkeeper Leann Stiver has firmly established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country in 2012. She is 16-1 with a .794 save percentage and a 0.82 goals against average, allowing just 13 goals in 1,112 minutes and 11 seconds of play.
• Stiver leads the NCAA in shutouts (8) and is second in goals against average and ranks eighth in save percentage.
• She has eight shutouts on the season, two of which have come against the top two scoring offenses in the country, North Carolina and Princeton.
• Stiver shutout five opponents in row between Sept. 21 and Oct. 6, posting a streak of 437 minutes and 19 seconds of consecutive shutout play.
• With SU's 1-0 overtime win vs. No. 2 North Carolina (9/1), Stiver became the first goalie since 2009 to shut out the Tar Heels.
• The Amherst, N.Y. native entered the season as the NCAA active leader in career save percentage and in the top five in goals against average.

AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
• Syracuse ranks among the nation's best in several statistical categories. The Orange currently boasts the second-best defense in the country, allowing just 0.88 goals per game, and has the fourth-highest scoring offense in the country at 4.10 goals per game, combining to give Syracuse the third-best scoring margin in the NCAA (+3.22).
• The Orange defense, led by backs Anna Crumb, Laura Hahnefeldt and Iona Holloway, and anchored by goalkeeper Leann Stiver, has posted eight shutouts this season, tops in the country, and at one point had five in a row. Two shutouts have come against the top two scoring teams in the country (UNC & Princeton).
• Moving the ball is the name of the game for the Orange offense as it ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in assists per game (3.18).

BALANCED ATTACK
• Despite having the fourth-highest scoring average in the country (4.10 goals), the Orange does not have an individual goal-scorer in the NCAA top 30. Its top scorers, Kelsey Millman, with 11 goals, is tied for 39th on the NCAA goal scoring list.
• There are not one or two threats that opposing defenses can focus on when facing Syracuse. The Orange's 70 goals this season are spread over 13 different players, with nine having four or more.
• SU's leading scorer, Millman, represents 15.7 percent of the team's scoring. By contrast, NCAA scoring leader Kathleen Sharkey of Princeton (1.56 goals per game) accounts for 34.2 percent of the Tigers' goals (25 of 73).

CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME LISTS
• Several of the Orange are solidifying their spots among the best in program history.
• WIth 88 career points, senior Kelsey Millman is currently ninth in program history. Next up is No. 8 Kelly Hambleton (1996-99) with 89.
• With 28 career assists, junior Leonie Geyer is currently tied for fifth all-time at SU with Julie Williamson (1991-94). Next up is Sherri Magsam (1986-89) in four place with 34.
• Senior goalie Leann Stiver has 20 shutouts in her career, ranking fourth all-time at Syracuse. Audrey Latsko (1999-02) is third with 21. Stiver's career goals against average of 1.09 is the second-best in program history, behind Cheri Herr's (1992-95) 1.00.
• Stiver's eight shutouts this season is tied for the fourth-highest single-season total in SU history.

Syracuse University Athletics

#3 Field Hockey Faces Providence In BIG EAST Semifinals

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