HOBOKEN, N.J. (Oct. 27, 2021) – Playing in her final regular season home game at the DeBaun Athletic Complex, fifth-year Brynn Froehlich ensured she would have at least one, if not two more opportunities to play in Hoboken as a member of the Stevens Institute of Technology field hockey team as she scored the game-winning goal in the 55th minute of game action to help the Ducks grab a 1-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus and clinch the #1 seed in the MAC Freedom Tournament.

Stevens is now 13-3 this season and finishes the regular season with a 6-1 record in conference play to clinch a share of the MAC Freedom Regular Season title. It is the first time the Ducks have won a regular season conference championship since 2013 when Stevens won the Empire 8 Conference.

The Ducks close the season tied with Misericordia University atop the standings but earn the top seed in the tournament by virtue of their 2-1 victory over the Cougars on Oct. 16. Stevens will take on #4 Arcadia University in the semifinals as they look to avenge their only conference loss this season.

FDU-Florham, meanwhile, dropped to 10-7 this season and 5-2 in MAC Freedom competition as they will be the #3 seed in the tournament and will travel to Misericordia for the semifinal matchup.

Neither team was able to find the back of the cage through the first three quarters of game action and the contest looked destined for overtime as the game remained scoreless with less than six minutes remaining.

Froehlich made sure an extra period would not be necessary, however, scoring with just 5:39 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.

Senior Natalie Logan started the scoring opportunity for the Ducks as she stole a pass in the middle of the field and was able to bring the ball into the circle before dishing it off to first-year Emily Smart.

The Haddonfield, N.J., native took the pass and made her way to the right side of the cage and fired a shot across the face of goal that was deflected by just outside the cage. Froehlich wasted no time getting her stick on it and buried a shot into goal for her fourth score of the season.

The Ducks cruised from there as they did not allow FDU-Florham any offensive opportunities in the second half to earn the hard-fought victory.

Senior Emily Franco played the entire contest in goal for Stevens and made one save on the night to post her third individual shutout this season. She now has six shutouts in her career which is tied for the third-most in program history.

Turning Point

• The Devils did not have many opportunities on the night, but their biggest came at the end of the first quarter.
• Off a penalty corner with less than 30 seconds left in the quarter, FDU's Sydney Moskal took a shot that was blocked and fell to the feet of First Team All-MAC Freedom selection Haleigh Flukey.
• Flukey took the opportunity to rip a shot to the right side of the cage that senior Shannon Stewart was able to get a clean stick on for a defensive save to thwart the Devil attack.
• The Ducks defense stood tall from that point on, allowing just one more shot after the first quarter and none in the second half.

Inside the Numbers

• The assist for Smart was her second of the season as she now ranks third on the team with 13 points this year.
• Stevens held a 17-3 edge in total shots and a 7-2 advantage in shots on goal in the contest.
• The shutout dropped Franco's goals against average to just 1.31 goals per game allowed this season, good for second in the MAC Freedom.
• The Ducks, who came into the contest ranked 15th in all of NCAA Division III in penalty corners per game, earned eight penalty corner opportunities on the night while holding the Devils to just three.
• Stevens now leads the MAC Freedom in scoring average and scoring margin while ranking second in the conference in opponents' scoring average.
• Froehlich finished the game with a team-high five shots, two of which were on goal while Alyssa Appleby added five shots of her own.
• Stevens has now won back-to-back matchups against FDU-Florham after their thrilling 3-2 win on penalty strokes in 2019.

From the Sidelines (Head Coach Meredith Spencer-Blaetz)

• "I really could not be more proud of this team today. The leadership and grit across the board was phenomenal. Our defense stepped up and our offense was relentless, following our gameplan to a "T". Seeing how well they worked as a unit shows me how much potential we still have."

Next Up

• Prior to getting started in the MAC Freedom Tournament, Stevens will close out the regular season Saturday with a matchup on the road at Union College at 6:00 p.m.
• Union has a 3-1 all-time record against the Ducks, but Stevens was able to take the last matchup 3-1 at home in 2019.
• Live stats and video will be available on StevensDucks.com.

Facebook: "Like" Stevens Athletics         
Twitter: @stevensducks
Instagram: @stevensducks
#AllRise