Nov. 14, 2008

LOWELL - Making its sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Tournament semifinal, UMass Lowell meets a familiar opponent in a familiar setting.

The River Hawks (19-4) meet Bentley University Friday at 5:30 at Bloomsburg University, following the other semifinal match pitting the host Huskies against Shippensburg (3:00).

The winners of each match clash Sunday afternoon (1:00) for the NCAA Championship.

The semifinal and championship can be viewed online at the following link:

http://all-access.cbssports.com/player.html?code=ncaa&media=89628

The match marks the 11th meeting in three years between the two rivals and the fourth meeting of the season. It is also the fourth time the River Hawks and Falcons will meet in the NCAA Tournament semifinal in five years.

Bentley holds a 2-1 edge over UMass Lowell this season and a 2-1 edge in the semifinal games.

The River Hawks won the first meeting this season (2-0) in Waltham on Sept. 10, but the Falcons avenged the loss (1-0) on penalty strokes in Lowell on Oct. 8. Bentley also prevailed in overtime (1-0) in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Nov. 2, also in Lowell.

Historically, the Falcons won the first two NCAA semifinal meetings, the first in 2004 in Lowell (3-0) and the second in the 2006 Tournament (4-0) in Pensacola, FL. Last year, the River Hawks prevailed 2-1 in overtime in Lowell before falling to Bloomsburg (5-2) in the title match.

UMass Lowell has advanced to the NCAA Championship in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and captured the title in 2005 with a 2-1 overtime triumph against Bloomsburg.

Friday's match marks Bentley's ninth appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinal. The Falcons won the NCAA title in 2001.