press release by the ECAC

After finishing the regular season with a 13-5 record, the national No. 9 Limestone College Saints were selected as the top seed in the inaugural Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division II Field Hockey Invitational. The ECAC Division II Field Hockey Invitational is a four-team field comprised of teams from Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina.

"We are excited about the opportunity to be playing for an actual conference title," said Limestone Head Coach Lindsay Jackson. "Having the ECAC involved in this tournament is a very promising and big step in the right direction for not only the independent schools directly involved, but all of Division II Field Hockey."

The tournament will be played at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO, with semifinal contests on Friday, November 8 and the championship and consolation matches taking place on Sunday, November 10.

"Lindenwood University is very excited to be hosting the ECAC Division II Field Hockey Invitational Tournament," said John Creer, Director of Athletics at Lindenwood University. "We are also very pleased that the ECAC has partnered with us to sponsor the tournament. Hopefully this is the beginning of what will become a more permanent ECAC Division II Field Hockey Conference Tournament for the future."

In the tournament's first game, host Lindenwood (7-8), the tournament's No. 2 seed, will face third-seeded Bellarmine University (8-9) at 5 P.M. The Lions and Knights played each other twice during the 2013 regular season, with Lindenwood taking both contests, including a 6-2 victory on October 20. Senior Kristi O'Connor (Fort Worth, Texas) has been the focal point of the Lions' offense, netting 19 goals and adding seven assists to lead the team with 45 points. For the Knights, senior Rachael Walz (Louisville, Ky.) leads a balanced attack with 11 goals and 26 points in 15 games.

In Friday's second semifinal, Limestone will take on No. 4 Newberry College (0-13) at 7:30 P.M. The Saints took the first two meetings between the two teams this season, most recently on October 30. Limestone is led on offense by All-American junior Rachel Goromonzi (Harare, Zimbabwe), who ranks top-five nationally in goals per game (No. 3, 1.22 per game) and points per game ( No. 5, 2.56 per game). In goal, senior Lindsay Hinton (Aurora, Colo.) has the second highest save percentage in all of NCAA Division II Field Hockey (.811) and the sixth best goals against average (1.28). For first year program Newberry, freshman Caitlyn Warren (Richmond, Va.) has carried much of the offensive load, tallying eight goals and four assists for a team-high 20 points.