SCIAC title rematch on tap for NCAA Second Round

ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman will take on conference-rival Pomona-Pitzer for the fourth time this season when the two faceoff on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship. The two last met a week ago in the championship match of the SCIAC Tournament.

THE MATCHUP

• Chapman swept the two regular season matches from Pomona-Pitzer this season but fell by a goal in the tournament championship. 
• While Chapman holds a 2-1 advantage in the matchup this season, all three matches came down to the wire. Chapman won with two last minute goals at Pomona-Pitzer (13-11) and scored in the final minute again at Chapman to win 9-8. The Sagehens held the ball for the final five minutes of the championship match to edge out the Panthers 10-9.
• The winner of the fourth installment between these two SCIAC teams advance to play SUNY-Cortland in the Round of 16.

ON THE ATTACK

• The second round matchup could see some more big offensive numbers. The top two teams in the SCIAC are also the two top-scoring teams in the SCIAC with both averaging over 12.5 goals per game. Pomona-Pitzer's 12.61 GPG led the SCIAC while Chapman wasn't far behind at 12.58 GPG.
• Sarah Markowitz ranked second in the conference with 50 goals for the Sagehens while the Panthers were led by Gretchen Rodenberger's 49 goals. Both teams boast two of the top-10 scorers in the SCIAC.

DANGEROUS NEAR THE NET

• Senior Brooke Martini has proven to be a force near the goal this year. She has a knack for drawing fouls and converting her free position opportunities.
• The midfielder ranked first in the SCIAC in drawing 39 free position opportunities and was tops in the conference in converting 19 of them.
• She ranks 15th in the nation with an average of 1.12 free position goals per game.

TURNOVER BATTLE

• Chapman's undoing in the SCIAC Championship came in the turnover battle. While both teams rank among the best in the nation in taking care of the ball, Chapman lost the battle 11-2.
• The Panthers rank 10th in the country with 12.06 turnovers per game while Pomona-Pitzer ranks 16th at 13 turnovers per game.

ON THE DRAW

• Chapman won the draw control battle in the title match 15-6 and hold a 37-27 advantage in the three matches against Pomona-Pitzer.
• Danielle Zahn's nine draw controls leads the Panther squad in the three matches against the Sagehens.

SCORING BALANCE

• Chapman has presented a balanced scoring attack all year and its matchups with Pomona-Pitzer have been no different. Three different players lead the squad with six goals each against the Sagehens this year: Martini, Zahn and Stacey Zuppa.
• Four different players have scored at least 30 times for Chapman this season with Rodenberger and Martini each hitting the back of the net at least 40 times.

by Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director

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