The LVC field hockey, men's soccer, and volleyball teams will all take part in the Commonwealth Conference playoffs this week as they chase conference crowns and bids to the NCAA tournament. The field hockey and volleyball teams will be home on Wednesday, and men's soccer will visit Messiah. Wins will advance the Dutchmen to their respective CC championship game, to take place Saturday.
Tickets to all events are $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, and $2 for students, and all children under six are free.
Field Hockey
(2) Lebanon Valley (16-2, 6-1 CC) vs. (3) Elizabethtown (11-6, 5-2 CC)
Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. - LVC Field Hockey Stadium
Live Stats -
GoDutchmen.com
Hosting Elizabethtown for the second time in eight days, Lebanon Valley hopes to advance to its sixth straight Commonwealth Conference championship game with a win; LVC has won five straight CC semifinal games dating back to a 2-1 loss to Juniata in 2003. The Dutchmen beat the Blue Jays, 5-2, last week with two goals apiece by
Jocelyn Novak and
Caitlin Vasey, and
Allison Bicher had a goal and two assists. The game will be a rematch of last year's semifinal, also in Annville, which LVC won, 4-0, behind a hat trick from Novak. LVC ended the regular season with one of its most complete wins of the season, beating CC #4 seed Widener 7-0. They outshot the Pride 40-1 in that game, and the defense held a good Widener team without a legitimate scoring opportunity.
Volleyball
(1) Lebanon Valley (29-2, 6-1 CC) vs. (4) Widener (21-14, 5-2 CC)
Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. - LVC Gymnasium
Live Stats -
GoDutchmen.com
The Dutchmen clinched home court throughout the Commonwealth Conference championships with a 3-2 win over Elizabethtown last week, making sure they will not have to leave Annville in order to defend the title they won in 2008. In the semifinals, LVC will take on Widener, the only conference opponent to hand the Dutchmen a defeat in 2009. LVC was downed by the Pride, 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 24-26, 23-25) in West Chester earlier this season, and will be looking for revenge this week as the playoffs open. The Dutchmen have won 19 of their last 20 matches since they last met Widener, and three five-set matches in the past week have made sure LVC is on its game heading into the conference tournament. On the other side of the bracket, #2-seed Elizabethtown hosts the three seed, Messiah.
Men's Soccer
(4) Lebanon Valley (10-6-2, 4-3-0 CC) at (1) Messiah (17-1-0, 7-0 CC)
Wednesday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. - Shoemaker Field
Live Audio -
WVMM
LVC got the point it needed on Saturday with
Chris Hall's game-tying goal in the 78th minute against Lycoming. Then the Dutchmen ensured they would enter the postseason on a high note when
Eric Woods scored in overtime to clinch LVC's third win in a row. The Dutchmen are in the playoffs for the second year in a row and will travel to Grantham to take on the the top seed - and #2 team in the country - Messiah. The Falcons have won seven of the last nine conference championships and enter the game on an eight-match winning streak. Earlier this year, LVC fell at Messiah, 5-0, in the teams' only meeting. Two Falcon goals in the 28th and 32nd minutes gave Messiah a 2-0 lead at halftime, and they added three goals in the final 14 minutes when LVC had to force the issue. In 2008, the Dutchmen defeated Messiah, 2-1, and keeping the score low is the key to the game for LVC. Messiah has been held to two goals or fewer just three times this year and allowed more than one goal in a game three times. LVC will count on forward
Chris Hall (seven goals) and midfielders
Justin Hutchinson (4g, 8a) to push the issue up front and
Mark Johnson to key the defense in front of keepr
Andrew Raudensky. An LVC win will see the Dutchmen advance to take on either #2-seed Arcadia or third-seeded Elizabethtown.
