ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley Field Hockey team is ready to play for a Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom (MAC Freedom) title this week after going 5-2 in conference play during the regular season to qualify as the fourth seed. LVC will take on top-seeded Arcadia University on Wednesday evening in one semifinal pairing. Second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology will host third-seeded DeSales University in the other semifinal.
 
The Dutchmen are having a great season with a fantastic 15-3 record with all three losses coming by one goal and the only non-conference loss coming to Bryn Mawr College who was ranked 13th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll at the time and is now 15th. LVC is coming off a strong final week where they defeated Arcadia 5-1 and Delaware Valley 4-0. The previous week they had a pair of close tough games against DeSales and Stevens where they fell 3-2 to the Bulldogs and 1-0 to the Ducks. The Ducks defeated the Bulldogs 6-1 in the regular season meeting between the squads. Stevens and DeSales will play at 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon in Hoboken, N.J. while the Dutchmen and Knights will play at 7 p.m. in Glenside. The winners will meet on Saturday at the site of the higher seed for the Championship and automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Ticket prices for each game are set by the MAC office and are as follows:
Adults - $8
Seniors (65+) - $6
Youth (7-17) - $6
MAC Students s/ valid ID - FREE
6 and under w/ Adult – FREE
 
LVC is having a great defensive year allowing just 13 goals and 7.6 shots per game in 18 games. Offensively the Dutchmen have score 58 goals and 17.3 shots per game. Sophomore Claire Weidenhammer leads the team with 37 points on 17 goals, including five game-winning goal, and three assists. She is 12th in the nation with 1.06 goals per game and 18th with 2.31 points per game. The midfielder has six multi-goal games and is coming off a pair of career-high five-point games against the Knights and Aggies. Sorrell Long and Lexi Ward have been great complements to Weidenhammer for the offense as they both have recorded over 20 points this season with balanced numbers. Long is second on the team with 26 points on nine goals and eight assists while Ward has 23 points on seven goals and nine assists. Long is a threat at penalty strokes with five goals on six attempts.
 
Jenna Angstadt has scored three game-winning goals and is fourth on the team with 15 points on seven goals and one assist. Gracie Johnson adds 14 points on four goals and six assists while Lauren Foster has 11 points off the bench on five goals and an assist. Jillian Tait has also done a great job as a substitute with nine points on three goals and three assists. Abby Rodenberger has eight points on three goals and two assists while Rebecca Lane has seven points on one goal and five assists. Reese Arnold adds three points on one goal and one assist while Olivia Lobecker has one goal and Mel Mercado has one assist.
 
The defense has allowed just five goals in conference play this year and 47 total shots. As a team the Dutchmen have posted 11 shutouts. Mercado, as a captain, has been the anchor of the defense while Madison Blakelee and Amelia Taube have dominated the sidelines. Bailey Kuhn and Alexa Brown have come off the bench to help the defensive front.
 
Ella Weidenhammer is 15-3 in her first year as the Dutchmen goalie and boosts an excellent 0.63 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .857 save percentage. She is ranked sixth in the nation in GAA and fourth in save percentage. The sophomore has made 66 saves while facing 98 shots in 1,041 minutes of action. Lauren Jancsarics has played in four games with five saves on seven shots in 34 minutes of work.
 
The Dutchmen are ranked ninth in the nation with a 0.72 GAA and seventh with a .847 save percentage. They lead the nation in shutouts and are 13th in scoring margin at 2.50.

Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, X, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC Athletics.