COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College field hockey team's NCAA Tournament journey will begin right at home. For the first time since 2010, the Bears were selected as the host of a regional site when the NCAA announced the 24-team Division III bracket late Sunday night. One of four regional hosts, the fifth-ranked Bears earned a bye into the second round and will meet Stevens Institute of Technology, the winner of Wednesday's first-round clash, on Saturday at 11:00am. On the other side of Ursinus' region lies seventh-ranked Salisbury University, which will take on the University of Rochester (N.Y.) at 2:00pm Saturday.
Ursinus (17-3) is making its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and 11th overall after earning the Centennial Conference's automatic qualifier with a 1-0 victory over Franklin & Marshall in Sunday's final. The Bears, winners of six straight games, routed Haverford, 6-1, in the semifinals on Saturday before garnering their 11th conference crown in the last 12 seasons.
Ursinus finds itself back among the nation's best thanks to a deep well of talent and a well-rounded unit. Senior Megan Keenan (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), the MVP of the Centennial Conference tournament, leads the league in assists (18) and points (54) while ranking second in goals (18). Junior Amber Steigerwalt (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) is third in goals (16) and points (40), while senior Devin Brakel (West Windsor, N.J./West Windsor Plainsboro North) sits tied for fifth in goals (15) and sixth in points (33). Senior Danielle Stong (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown Area) also resides in the Centennial Conference's top 10 in points with 27 (10th).
As a team, Ursinus is fourth in Division III in goals per game (4.40) and assists per game (2.70) and fifth in scoring margin (+3.36).
Senior Danielle DeSpirito (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood Jr-Sr) backstops a defense that ranks 20th nationally in goals against average (1.05). She is tied for the conference lead with seven shutouts for the Bears, who have posted 11 clean sheets this season. Senior Jordan Miller (Stevens, Pa./Cocalico) has been a reliable second line of defense; she owns five of Ursinus' seven defensive saves, good for fourth in the conference. Junior Ann Kopera (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) finished with 17 points on the season and scored the only goal in Sunday's Centennial Conference title game.
Ursinus' region includes four other conference champions and an at-large invitee. Mount Holyoke (15-6) collected the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship, while Stevens (13-7) was the Empire 8 champion. Misericordia captured the MAC Freedom title, and Salisbury won the Capital Athletic Conference championship. Rochester was one of four teams to earn a berth from Pool C, which consists of institutions from automatic-qualifying conferences that are not the conference champions.
The Bears have some NCAA Tournament history with Salisbury, their potential quarterfinal opponent. They defeated the Sea Gulls, 1-0, in overtime in a 2011 quarterfinal, while Salisbury pulled out a 3-2 thriller in the semifinals in 2005.
Ursinus is seeking its first national championship since 2006. The Bears reached the semifinals every year from 2008 to 2011, and advanced to the quarterfinals last season.
The second round begins Saturday, with the winners to face off in the quarterfinals on Sunday. The champions of the four regional sites – also hosted by top-ranked Bowdoin College, William Smith College, and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) – will then advance to the semifinals and final, Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22, at Turf Field on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Second round games will be played at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, with the third round game set for at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
2015 NCAA Field Hockey Championship Interactive Bracket
2015 NCAA Field Hockey Championship Printable Bracket