Box Score
All-Tournament Team

UTICA, N.Y. (November 4, 2012) – The Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team fell 4-3 to Utica College in the final of the 2012 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship at Charles A. Gaetano Stadium in Utica, N.Y.
 
Before the Ducks could blink, they were staring at a 2-0 hole and a ton of momentum for the second-seeded hosts. Utica's (14-5) Ally Sanders (Endicott, N.Y.) controlled a loose ball at the top-right of the circle, took a shot and it was deflected up and over Stevens goalie Kaitlin McClymont (Corpus Christi, Texas) 2:59 into the game.
 
Then, just 2:02 later, sophomore Hannah Mackey (Locke, N.Y.) tallied on a rebound to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead with 29:59 left in the first half.
 
Stevens weathered the storm and quickly countered Utica's fast start with one its own. In the ninth minute, the Ducks scored directly off a penalty corner when junior forward Marguerite Chavez (Oceanport, N.J.) inserted out to junior Megan Traub (Berkeley Heights, N.J.). Traub touched once to control and blasted a perfect shot in the lower left corner to make it a one-goal game.
 
The early equalizer came 3:30 later when sophomore midfielder Jillian Fiebel (Roxbury, N.J.) battled for a rebound in front after a shot from Chavez. The second-year player controlled, took one shot that was blocked before netting her third goal in two days to make it a 2-2 game with 23:06 left in the first half.
 
Things remained exciting and high-paced the rest of the half but the two teams would enter the second period tied at two. The best chance for Utica came from Mackey when her backhanded blast missed inches right of the cage, while the Ducks generated a great chance for Traub after a penalty corner but her bid was saved by Utica goalie Kells Casey (Sandwich, Mass.).
 
Stevens (13-7) ended the opening period with a 10-7 margin in shots and a 6-4 edge in penalty corners.
 
The Pioneers regained the advantage 3:40 into the second period when Mackey angled into the circle from the left side, going all the way to the right and connecting on a perfect backhanded shot into the lower-left corner for her 14th goal of the season.
 
Stevens tied things up in the 51st minute when Traub converted a penalty stroke. The play began on a penalty corner with Traub taking a shot that was blocked. Fiebel made several attempts on rebounds and the final one was blocked by a Utica player but a penalty was called because the Pioneer that made the play used her body to prevent the ball from going in. A stroke ensued and Traub did the rest, getting her ninth of goal of the season and second of the afternoon.
 
Traub nearly gave Stevens the lead on two separate occasions – once with 18:10 left and again at the 15-minute mark – receiving a penalty-corner insert and missing inches left in both instances.
 
At the nine-minute mark, Chavez again inserted to Traub on a penalty corner, and this time, her blast was stopped with a beautiful kick save by Casey to keep the score knotted at three.
 
Despite battling pressure in their own zone through much of the second half, the Pioneers came back and took the lead for good, countering a Stevens attack with the game-winner at.65:15. Sophomore back Nikki Kieffer (Rome, N.Y.) found sophomore forward Louise Steele-Norton (Avondale, Pa.) with a long pass into the left side of the circle. Steele-Norton chased it down and put her shot in the lower-right corner for her conference-record-tying 24^th goal of the season.
 
Stevens ended with a 15-10 margin in shots and a 13-5 edge in penalty corners. McClymont finished with two saves, while Kells had eight for the Pioneers.
 
Chavez, Traub and Fiebel were all named to the 2012 Empire 8 Field Hockey Championship All-Tournament team. Utica's Alaina Stojkovski (Liverpool, N.Y.) was named the tournament's MVP.
 
The game was played at second-seeded Utica because regular-season champ Stevens was unable to host due to Hurricane Sandy.
 
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