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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.-- Ready? The Skidmore College field hockey team is ready. The Thoroughbreds take on Salisbury University in the NCAA Division III semifinals on Friday at 2 p.m. at the USA Field Hockey Training Center.
 
Sixth seed Skidmore (19-3) is playing in its third final four and looking for the first championship game appearance in the championship game.   The Thoroughbreds advanced to the final four with an 11-1 second round win over Keene State College and a 3-2 quarterfinal win over Middlebury.
 
Bowdoin and Christopher Newport will play in the other semifinal game. The championship game is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Sunday at Old Dominion University.  ODU will be hosting all three NCAA championships on Sunday.
 
North Atlantic Region Player of the Year Kelly Blackhurst leads the team in scoring with a program-record 32 goals and 14 assists for 78 points. the 78 points ties the Skidmore single season record.  Dani DeGregory (19-16--54) and Sam Skott (13-5--31) are next in scoring.
 
Defender Jenn Hanks has contributed seven goals and three assists along with eight defensive saves. Goalie Haley McDougall had eight saves in the Middlebury win and has a 2.03 goals against average and will be starting a program record 23rd game.
 
Salisbury advanced to the semifinals with a 4-1 win over Wellesley.  The Gulls (16-3) are ranked third nationally. Sophomore Courtney Jantzen and freshman Yumi Kim lead Salisbury in scoring with 29 points each. Jantzen has 14 goals and one assist, while Kim has 12 goals and five assists.  The Gulls have allowed only 12 goals this season, two less than Skidmore's NCAA weekend total.
 
This will be the second final four trip for the Thoroughbred seniors, who played in the 2010 finals as freshmen.  It's that group that provided the leadership that projected something special when preseason started in August.
 
"I told them in preseason they had what it takes," Hallenbeck said. "Early on it was a bit of a learning process but we had the talent, chemistry, leadership and skill. I think after the win on Sunday they really understand how good they are. It's a credit to the progress the team has made."


Skidmore College Thoroughbreds
NCAA III Field Hockey Championship
Nov. 22 Semifinal vs. Salisbury
Nov. 24 Championship vs. Bowdoin/Christopher Newport
Virginia Beach, Va.
 
Skidmore still a rookie—Skidmore is playing in its third NCAA final four. Salisbury is in its 12^th with five national titles. Bowdoin is playing in its sixth with three championships, while Christopher Newport is competing in its first final four.  The Thoroughbreds played in 2001 (4-1 semifinal loss to Cortland-champion) and in 2010 (5-0 semifinal loss to Bowdoin-champion).
 
Thoroughbreds on a roll—Skidmore rides a 10-game win streak into the finals, four of the wins are against nationally ranked teams.
 
Offense—The Thoroughbreds are fourth nationally in goals per game (4.36). The team scored an NCAA tournament record 11 goals in a second-round 11-1 win over Keene State. Salisbury has allowed only 12 goals total this season, three less than Skidmore scored in its first two NCAA playoff games.
 
Map to Virginia--Skidmore beat Rochester (4-3) and William Smith (3-2) in the final two Liberty League regular season games to move from third to first in the conference final standings. With the top seed and home field, the Thoroughbreds beat Vassar (4-0) and William Smith (4-3) to win the Liberty League title.  The team traveled to Middlebury College for an 11-1 win over Keene State in the NCAA second round and then came from behind to beat the home team, 3-2 in the quarterfinals.
 
Close and the cigar: Skidmore is 8-2 in one-goal games this season. 
 
Common Opps:     Salisbury 5 Geneseo 0           Skidmoore 5 Geneseo 4 OT
                                    Salisbury 7 Union 0                 Skidmore 6 Union 2
 
Record Book Update:
Team
OT Wins                                     3                Third time (2000, 1988)
Wins                                            19 (20)    20 wins in 2010
Individual
Goals                                           32             Kelly Blackhurst
Points                                          78             Blackhurst (tied)
Game winning goals:             8                Blackhurst (tied)
Goalie games played             22             Haley McDougall (tied)
Goalie minutes:                       1516:12  McDougall
Defensive Saves:                    8 (9)         Jenn Hanks
Scoring (career):                      263           Blackhurst (5^th NCAA III All-Time)
Goals (career):                         105           Blackhurst (7^th NCAAIII All-Time)
Game winning goals:             20             Blackhurst
 
Skidmore All-Time:
vs. Salisbury                             First Meeting
vs. Bowdoin                              0-2
vs. Christopher Newport       First Meeting