St. Joseph’s field hockey is NCAA tournament-bound after capturing its sixth-straight A-10 title
The Hawks have won the conference crown in nine of the last 10 years. Additionally, head coach Sam Brown was named A-10 Coach of the Year.
St. Joseph’s field hockey won its sixth consecutive Atlantic 10 championship with a 2-1 shootout win over Richmond on Saturday. The conference tournament title is its ninth in the past 10 years.
Senior forward Erika Culp scored the Hawks’ only regulation goal in the second quarter to tie the game. That tie held through overtime and into seven rounds of a shootout before Culp once again found the back of the cage in the eighth round.
Junior goalie Avianna Wagner followed with a save on Richmond’s attempt. Wagner, who finished the day with six saves, was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The Hawks entered the tournament as the top seed, after winning the regular season title with an undefeated season under first-year head coach Sam Brown. Brown was also named conference Coach of the Year.
With this sixth consecutive win, St. Joe’s ties the conference record set for most consecutive conference championships, which Massachusetts set between 1996 and 2001. The Hawks were previously tied with Richmond for the most consecutive Atlantic 10 championships for a program that is still an active member of the conference.
St. Joe’s will find out their seeding and opponent for the NCAA tournament during Sunday night’s selection show. The opening round of the tournament starts Wednesday, followed by first round games on Friday.
