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South Easton, Mass. – Sophomore forward Sammy Macy (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored two goals to help lead the University of Massachusetts Lowell to a 3-2 victory over Bentley University in the 2008 NCAA Division II Field Hockey Semifinals Friday evening in Bloomsburg, Pa.

The River Hawks will face the reigning National Champion, Bloomsburg University (22-1) in the NCAA Division II National Championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Sports Stadium on the campus of Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, Pa. The Huskies defeated Shippensburg University 3-2 in overtime earlier in the afternoon.

Macy scored the first of her two goals in the first half to give the River Hawks an early 1-0 lead. Senior Michelle Harrington (Rockport, Mass.) assisted Macy on her 27th goal of the season at 21:35.

Minutes later sophomore Katie Enaire (Amesbury, Mass.) extended the River Hawks lead to 2-0 when she scored her 14th goal of the season with junior Molly Clay (Rockport, Mass.) assisting on the play.

With UMass Lowell still leading with 5:05 remaining in the first half, Bentley junior Courtney Bartlett (Brunswick, Maine) found the back of the cage to cut the River Hawk lead to 2-1. The unassisted goal was her 12th goal of the season.

The Falcons nearly tied the score in the closing seconds of the half on a couple of penalty corner opportunities; however the River Hawks were able to deny Bentley’s scoring chances to enter halftime with a 2-1 advantage.

UMass Lowell kicked off the scoring in the second half with Macy’s second goal of the game coming five minutes into the half which increased the River Hawks’ lead to 3-1. Sophomore Jaime Hadley (Chelmsford, Mass.) assisted her on the goal.

The Falcons responded as Bartlett scored her second goal of the contest as she drove a shot from the top of the circle towards the goal off an assist from junior Jenna Panzone (East Falmouth, Mass.) with 21:54 left in the second half.

UMass Lowell was able to keep the Falcons scoreless the rest of the way as the River Hawks held on to the 3-2 victory advancing to their fourth NCAA Championship appearance and second-straight. With the win UMass Lowell improves to 20-4, while Bentley ends the season 17-6 snapping its 16-game winning streak.

The River Hawks advanced to the NCAA Championship in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and captured the title in 2005 with a 2-1 overtime win against Bloomsburg. The Huskies defeated UMass Lowell 5-2 in last year’s championship game to capture the 2007 title.

With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23 championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500 student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II conference.

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