Eagles Earn Championship Berth With Shutout Win

HUNTINGDON, Pa. - Juniata College reserved its slot in the championship game of the inaugural Landmark Conference Field Hockey Tournament with a 2-0 win over Drew University, in a semifinal matchup Wednesday afternoon on Winton Hill Field in Huntingdon.

Juniata will face Catholic University in the championship; Catholic advanced to the final by virtue of its 4-0 win over Goucher College. Catholic will host the Eagles in the title game on Saturday, Nov. 3, in Washington, D.C.; the start time for the game has yet to be determined.

Leslie Stern (Felton, Pa./Red Lion) put the Eagles on the scoreboard with 19:07 remaining in the opening frame, when she scored on a penalty corner off an assist by Kim Wagner (Middletown, Pa./Middletown).

Wagner expanded the Juniata lead to 2-0 later in the half, when her shot from in traffic in front of the Drew goal got past Ranger goalie Stef Rutkowski. Erin Smith (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) was credited with the assist on the goal.

Juniata outshot Drew 10-3, including a 9-1 advantage in the first half. The Eagles also held a 9-6 advantage in penalty corner opportunities.
Eagle goalie Abby Funk (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) recorded one save in the Juniata cage, while Rutkowski was credited with one save in the Drew goal.

The win was Juniata's tenth consecutive victory and set a new program record for consecutive wins, eclipsing the previous mark of nine set during the 2006 campaign.