Matchup	#9 Merrimack (0-0) at #2 East Stroudsburg (0-0)
Date/Time	Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017 (1 p.m.)
Venue	Whitenight Field
Multimedia	Live Stats // Twitter // Instagram

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – With first-year head coach Megan Shea set to make her debut, the No. 9 Merrimack College field hockey program travels to No. 2 East Stroudsburg University on Saturday afternoon for a 1 p.m. start time. The Warriors look to avenge both a defeat in the 2015 National Championship game and a loss in last season's opener when Stroudsburg visited Merrimack.

2016 Rewind:

• Merrimack played its best field hockey at the end of the season, knocking off multiple ranked opponents to close the regular season with five wins in its final six games. The Navy and Gold beat ninth-ranked Adelphi University in the NE10 Quarterfinals, before seeing their postseason run end in the NE10 semifinals
• The Warriors boasted three Northeast-10 All-Conference selections in junior Mary McNeil (Canton, Mass.) on the first team, senior Rylie Hammond (Phillipston, Mass.) on the second team and sophomore Katharina Ohmen (Bremen, Germany) on the all-rookie squad
• McNeil added a National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-American selection to her resume after totaling seven goals, seven assists and 21 points on the year

 'Mack Facts:

• Shea will make her debut on Saturday afternoon, arriving in North Andover after stops as a Division I assistant coach at New Hampshire, Columbia and Northeastern. This month, the UNH alumna added Taylor Blood to her coaching staff, who wrapped up her playing career at Boston University last fall as a All-Patriot League performer
• Hammond returns as Merrimack's leading scorer with 26 points (11G, 4 A) while classmate Taylor Simpson (York, Maine) potted nine goals to go along with five assists for 23 points
• Ohmen started in all 13 games she played in as Merrimack's goalkeeper, posting a 1.32 goals-against-average, a .827 save percentage with 81 total saves. She ranked among the top-five in the NE10 in both GAA and SV%. Senior Kayla Raneri (Reading, Mass.) returns to provide the Warriors with a potent goalkeeping tandem this fall
• Defensively, junior Delaney Yule (Southbury, Conn.) will anchor the back line after a five-point campaign an multiple defensive saves as a sophomore

Poll Watch:

• Merrimack will begin this season ranked ninth in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Coaches Poll, and will get an immediate challenge by facing the second-ranked Warriors of East Stroudsburg
• Five squads from the Northeast-10 Conference earned spots in the poll, led by the preseason favorites in the conference, Saint Anselm (142). LIU Post and Stonehill slotted right behind the Hawks in a tie for fifth with 139 points. Merrimack finished just above Adelphi (30) to represent the final two spots in the rankings
• Defending national champion Shippensburg totaled 14 of a possible 23 first-place votes to claim the top spot

Inside the Series:

• Merrimack and East Stroudsburg have met five times dating back to their first-ever contest in 2008, with the Navy and Gold only winning one of the previous meetings.
• Last year's decision went in favor of ESU, 4-2, in the 2016 opener played at Martone-Mejail Field. Yule and Hammond scored the goals for Merrimack
• The 2015 national championship went to overtime before ESU scored the winner, outlasting the Warriors to win the Division II title

Inside the Matchup:

#9 Merrimack (0-0)	Category (2016 Stats)	#2 East Stroudsburg (0-0)
2.24	Scoring Offense	2.55
1.71	Scoring Defense	0.80
Rylie Hammond (11-4—26)	Leading Returning Scorer	Bailey Quinn (8-2—18)
Hammond (11)	Goals Returning Leader	Quinn (8)
Mary McNeil (7)	Assists Returning Leader	Paige Harrold (22)
Delaney Yule (2)	Defensive Saves Returning Leader	Sydney McCarthy (1)
Katharina Ohmen (1.32)	GAA Returning Leader	Halle Frisco (0.00)
Ohmen (.827)	Save Percentage Leader	Maddie Richie (.500)

 
Up Next
The Warriors play their second straight on the road to begin the season on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.