MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's field hockey team, ranked 12th in this week's NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll, earned the number-one seed in this weekend's Atlantic 10 Field Hockey Championship, to be held on the Hawks' home turf at Ellen Ryan Field on Friday and Saturday.

After claiming their fifth regular season championship in six years, the top-seeded Hawks will take on fourth-seeded Richmond on Friday, November 5, at 11:00 a.m.  The winner will meet either second-seeded VCU or third-seeded UMass in the title game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. with the Atlantic 10's automatic bid to the NCAA Field Hockey Championship on the line.

#1 Saint Joseph's vs. #4 Richmond
Atlantic 10 Semifinals
Friday, November 6 • 11:00 a.m. • Ellen Ryan Field
ESPN+ (U.S.) • A-10 Network (Int'l) • Live Stats • Championship Central

• Saint Joseph's (14-4 overall, 6-1 Atlantic 10) enters the Championship on a four-game winning streak, with two of those wins coming against ranked teams.  SJU topped then-#12 Boston College, 2-0, on October 15 before routing Davidson, 6-0, five days later.  SJU then clinched the outright league title with a 3-0 win at La Salle before storming back to beat then-#24 Ohio State, 4-3, at home on Sunday.

• Cassidy Atchison tallied three goals and an assist in two games last week to earn Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week honors.  Freke van Tilburg was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Week after scoring three points on Sunday and leading the Hawk defense to its ninth shutout of the season at La Salle, while Sol Borensztein added a goal against OSU to earn Rookie of the Week laurels.  It marked the second clean sweep of the league's weekly honors for Saint Joseph's this season (September 13).

• SJU held steady at #12 in this week's NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll released on Tuesday.  The Hawks have been ranked in every poll this season – and 45 of the past 48 dating back to 2017 – reaching as high as eighth in the country on September 21.

• The Hawks lead the nation in penalty corners, earning 161 on the year for a rate of nearly nine per game.  SJU also ranks seventh in Division I in points per game and goals per game.  The Hawk defense has posted nine shutouts; only top-ranked Iowa has kept more opponents off the scoreboard.

• Between the third quarter of the game against then-#23 Delaware on October 1 and the first quarter of the game against Ohio State on October 31, the Hawks went 386:44 without allowing a goal in regulation; an overtime winner by UMass was the only goal the Hawks conceded over the span of those 30 days.

• Van Tilburg leads the Hawks and the Atlantic 10 with 12 goals and 30 points; she is also tied for seventh in the league with six assists.  Manu Ghigliotti is right on her heels, tied for second in the conference with 11 goals while ranking fourth with 23 points.  Katy Benton paces the Hawks with 10 assists, good for third in the league, while Atchison is fifth in points, tied for sixth in goals, and tied for fifth in assists.

• Robin Bleekemolen ranks second in the nation with nine shutouts in the cage, while posting a 1.13 goals against average and a save percentage of .704.  In conference play, she tops the league with a 0.28 GAA while ranking second with a .867 save percentage.  She backstops a Hawk defense that allowed just two goals in league play, and only one in regulation.

• Richmond (5-13 overall, 4-3 Atlantic 10) enters the postseason ona  three-game skid, with losses to then-#17 Wake Forest, VCU, and Georgetown.  The Spiders' most recent victory was a big one, however, as they topped then-#21 UMass, 1-0, on the road on October 17.

• The Spiders are led on the scoresheet by Lindsey Frank with six goals, six assists, and 18 points.  Steffie Bongers also sits on six goals, while her 17 points are good for second on the squad and her five assists put her third behind Frank and Tess Keppel.

• Erika Latta has seen all of the action between the pipes for Richmond, posting a 2.22 GAA and a .710 save percentage.  She has posted a 1.14 GAA in league play, and all three of her shutouts on the season have come against Atlantic 10 opposition.

• VCU (11-5 overall, 5-2 Atlantic 10) has won three in a row heading into the weekend, with home wins over then-#17 Wake Forest and Ball State preceding a win at rival Richmond last Friday that sealed the #2 seed in the conference tournament for the Rams.

• Janne Wetzel powers the VCU offense, ranking third in the league with 26 points but leading the conference with 2.00 points per game.  Her 11 goals tie her with Ghigliotti for second in the league, while Maite and Svea Sturm are tied for the league lead with 12 assists apiece.

• Sasha Elliott has played the lion's share of the minutes in goal for the defending champions, posting a 1.13 GAA and a save percentage of .819, both good for second in the conference.

• A win over Lock Haven on Saturday gave UMass (13-5 overall, 5-2 Atlantic 10) the third seed after the Minutewomen closed the regular season with three consecutive wins of their own.  After the loss to Richmond, UMass routed La Salle before securing a 2-1 win at then-#18 UConn and blanking Lock Haven, 3-0.

• Reigning Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year Georgie McTear once again leads the Minutewomen with 18 points on six goals and six assists.  Mus Defauwes has found the net six times herself, while Amalie Green's seven assists are a team-best and tie her for fifth in the conference.

• Marlise van Tonder has played all but 15 minutes in the cage for UMass, leading the league with a 0.91 GAA and a .852 save percentage.  She is tied with Elliott for second in the league with six shutouts.

HAWKS vs. THE FIELD

#2 VCU: The Hawks opened conference play with a 3-1 road victory over the Rams on September 24.  Third-quarter goals from Ghigliotti, Borensztein, and Anna Miller powered the Hawks to victory.

#3 UMass: Van Tonder was immense for the hosts, making a season-high 14 saves and Steph Gottwals broke the deadlock in the last minute of the first overtime as the Minutewomen topped the Hawks, 1-0, on October 15, ending a five-game winning streak for SJU in the all-time series.

#4 Richmond: Ghigliotti scored with 6:05 to go in the fourth to provide the breakthrough as the Hawks moved to 2-0 in conference play with a 1-0 win on September 26.

ALL-TIME SERIES
vs. VCU: Hawks lead, 11-5
vs. UMass: Minutewomen lead, 33-10
vs. Richmond: Spiders lead, 21-12