Jan 30, 2006
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South Easton, Mass. The Northeast-10 Conference has announced the declaration of co-champions for the 2005 Conference field hockey championship. The announcement was made this afternoon by Commissioner David Brunk.
"After careful consideration, I have determined that in the interest of fairness, both Stonehill College and the University of Massachusetts Lowell will be declared co-champions of our 2005 post-season tournament," said Brunk. "Due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this situation, I feel that both teams have a legitimate claim to the championship. I see this decision as a positive step towards correcting what turned out to be an unfortunate occurrence at our championship game and serves as a first step toward ensuring such situations are avoided in the future."
The NE-10's decision stems from confusion regarding the role of official timekeeping at the championship game played on October 30, 2005. During the contest, no less than three clocks were in use the umpire's watch, a table clock, and a visible scoreboard clock. Upon the start of the first overtime period with the teams tied 1-1, the umpire blew the whistle signaling both teams to begin play. However, the visible scoreboard clock had not been reset nor started at the whistle. Subsequently, 29 seconds into overtime, UMass Lowell scored the apparent game winner. The goal was disallowed after the umpire ruled that the visible scoreboard clock was not in operation at the start of the overtime period. Minutes later, Stonehill converted to win the title, 2-1.
"As a result of this unfortunate development, we will immediately implement corrective measures to the administration of our field hockey championship, first with the addition of a third official at the table to assist the two game officials with particular emphasis on time management," said Brunk. "Further, the conference will establish a games committee similar to the International Hockey Federation (FIH) technical table to deal with situations that may directly impact the integrity of the championship. The three game officials, a conference representative and tournament site administrator will comprise the committee."
Brunk continued. "I believe these measures, along with a definitive statement from the NCAA Field Hockey Committee regarding the role of the visible clock and what is considered to be the official clock will serve as positive steps to the overall administration of the sport."
The Northeast-10 is one of the largest and is the most diverse NCAA Division II playing conference in the nation. It sponsors 23 championship sports including baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country, football, field hockey, men's golf, men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's indoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, men's tennis, women's tennis, softball, women's volleyball, men's swimming and diving, and women's swimming and diving
Full Members of the Northeast-10 include American International College, Assumption College, Bentley College, Bryant University, Franklin Pierce, Le Moyne College, The University of Massachusetts Lowell, Merrimack College, Pace University, Saint Anselm College, Saint Michael's College, The College of Saint Rose, Southern Connecticut State University, Southern New Hampshire University, and Stonehill College.
