Andrea Bradley, coach of the Goucher field hockey team, said she isn't surprised that the Gophers are playing in the NCAA Division III tournament today at Salisbury State.
"We set out to make it to the championships four years ago," said Bradley, who inherited a team of seven members, which finished 2-7 in 1990, her first year. "I recruited a class and sold them on the idea."
Bradley was such a good saleswoman that she put together a team that is the first at Goucher to play in an NCAA tournament.
Top-seeded Trenton State (16-0) will compete against fourth-seeded Hartwick (13-5) at noon before the second-seeded Gophers (15-3-1) take on third-seeded Salisbury State (11-6) at 2 in the first round of the tournament. The winners will play at 2 p.m. tomorrow for the regional championship. The regional champion advances to the national semifinals Friday.
While the Gophers are new to the NCAA tournament, Salisbury is making its 10th trip to the tournament in the past 11 years. The Sea Gulls qualified for the NCAA field nine straight times from 1984 to 1992. Salisbury won the national title in 1986 and was a semifinalist in its last appearance, in 1992.
"We're not looking beyond today's game; we're just focused on Goucher," said coach Dawn Chamberlin, who guided the Sea Gulls to national third-place finishes in 1987 and 1988. "This will .. be a big game for us. Probably the biggest one this season."
Goucher avenged a 2-1 overtime loss to the Sea Gulls during the regular season with a 3-0 win in last Saturday's Capital Athletic Conference title game to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Goucher's scoring leaders are Michele Mohlman and Chrissy Czajkowski. Mohlman, a junior forward, has led the CAC in scoring the past two seasons, and, with 47 career goals, she is nine away from breaking the school record set by the late Renie Amoss.
Czajkowski, a junior center halfback, has controlled the midfield, and she possesses a corner shot that Bradley describes as "deadly."
Co-captains and fullbacks Michelle Cotter and Courtney Lampton should make things happen off the ball while providing plenty of support for first-team All-CAC goalkeeper Dawn Greer.
Defensive specialist Kim Donoghue will be trying to stop Salisbury's Susan Fatz (15 goals) and Laura Getty (10 goals).
"No matter what happens, we've already had a successful year," said Bradley. "They had their mind set to do well. It's hard to put away a team the second time, but we can do it. The team is motivated. They know what they have to do when they get out on the field."