Montclair, NJ (11/12/06) – Senior forward KRISTEN SWARTZ (Hatboro, PA/Hatboro-Horsham) scored once and was named the Most Outstanding Player as top-seeded Montclair State captured its third ECAC Division III Mid-Atlantic Field Hockey championship as the top-seeded Red Hawks edged No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins, 3-2 in the title game at Sprague Field on Sunday afternoon.

JEN SOSS ( Hamilton , NJ /Steinert) and MEGAN PIETRUNTI (Middletown, NJ/Red Bank Catholic) each had goals for the Red Hawks, who finished the season 17-3, tying the single-season mark for victories set last season. The title was the third in seven overall appearances in the ECAC Championship for MSU, which also won crowns in 1990 and 2001. Montclair was playing in its fourth ECAC Championship Game.

Katie Wong (Los Angeles, CA/Harvard-Westlake) and Adair Landy (Montclair , NJ / Montclair)  each had a goal for Johns Hopkins, which finished the season at 15-8. The Blue Jays, who were making their first appearance in the ECAC Championship, close out the season with the second-highest win total in school history, two shy of the 17 it won in 1999 and 2000.

The Blue Jays held a 16-6 advantage in shots, but it was Montclair State that got the first goal 3:02 into the game as Swartz, who had a goal in each of MSU's three wins in the tournament, registered her 17 th tally of the season. Off a long shot from outside the circle, goalkeeper Dayna Eng (Ellicott City, MD/Centennial) kicked away the ball, however the rebound came right back out to Swartz, who smacked a shot into the left corner of the cage, giving Montclair State a 1-0 lead.

Johns Hopkins responded quickly as Wong scored her 11 th goal of the year. Leah Horton (Wayne, PA/Upper Marion Area) got off a shot from the left side that traveled toward the cage where Wong was able to redirect the attempt past MSU keeper JACQUIE SUPKO (Moorestown, NJ/Moorestown) for a 1-1 tie with 27:28 remaining in the first half.

The Red Hawks would regain the lead at 26:10 as Soss, who had a goal and assist in the semifinal win over Catholic, recorded her ninth of the year off an assist from JACKIE BERRY ( Tuckerton , NJ /Pinelands Regional) . The Blue Jays came within inches of tying game over the next five minutes, but Supko turned away five shots and Berry made a defensive save off the backline on Emily Miller's (Garden City, NJ/Garden City) in-close rebound attempt.

In the second half, the Red Hawks extended the lead to 3-1 at the 46:50 mark as Pietrunti scored her fourth of the year off an assist from Soss. Johns Hopkins would cut the deficit to a goal as Landy tipped in Horton's shot from outside the circle for her 12 th making the score 3-2 with 16:54 to play.

The Blue Jays got two more chances over the final minutes, but Supko came up with saves each time, including one off a hard drive by Sarah Bender ( Mattaposiett , MA / Tabor Academy ) with just over 15 minutes to play.

Supko finished with nine saves in the game with Eng making one stop as Johns Hopkins also held a 5-3 edge penalty corners.