LACROSSE

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University women's lacrosse team's season will continue this week as the Cadets were extended an invitation to participate in the 2008 ECAC Tournament.

The seven-team field was announced by the conference office this morning, and the bracket shows fifth-seeded Norwich traveling to Keene, N.H., to face fourth-seeded Keene State in an opening round contest on Wednesday, May 7, at 4 p.m.

Should the Cadets defeat the Owls, they would likely tangle with top-seeded Bridgewater State in the ECAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, May 10, in Bridgewater, Mass.  The Bears received a first-round bye and will host the event's semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday (May 10-11).

Norwich (11-4) won the inaugural GNAC Tournament championship on Saturday, April 26, when the Cadets overcame a 7-5 halftime deficit to defeat regular season champion Emerson in Boston.

NU will look to GNAC "Player of the Year" and GNAC Tournament MVP Ally Daniels to lead the offense. The Concord, N.H., native enters Wednesday's action leading the team in goals (60), assists (29) and points (89).

Norwich head coach Tyler Renaud is proud of his young team for all it has already accomplished this season, and he's excited about competing in the ECAC Tournament.

"The ladies and I are delighted to see our season continue," said Renaud. "I consider obtaining an ECAC Tournament bid in just our second year to be a great accomplishment, and hopefully this is an indication of bigger and better things to come for our program.

"The GNAC is still awaiting its seventh member (Simmons College joins next year) in order to petition the NCAA for an automatic bid to that tournament, but I take nothing away from the ECAC Tournament. They have selected seven very competitive teams for this year's field, taking teams that just missed out on their conference automatic qualifiers and/or at-large bids to the NCAA tourney. I think the fact that the ECAC provides this tournament opportunity for deserving teams is great, and I know all the participants, along with the eventual champion, will take pride in being a part of this championship run.

"The support from Athletic Director Tony Mariano and the university's administration to carry on our season has been wonderful and is greatly appreciated by our players, coach Pacelli and myself. Winning the first-ever GNAC Women's Lacrosse Championship is something all of us will cherish for years to come. We had to deal with a lot of adversity this year, playing almost every game on the road because of poor weather and other tangible events, but the girls did an exceptional job of maintaining our team chemistry and remaining close throughout the season. I have won several of championships as both a player and coach, but this one definitely ranks No. 1 on the list."   

2008 ECAC Tournament Matchups

#1 Bridgewater State (first round bye)

#2 Roger Williams vs. #7 Worcester State

#3 Western New England College vs. #6 Castleton State

#4 Keene State vs. #5 Norwich