READING, Pa. – The top-seeded FDU-Florham field hockey team dropped a hard-fought, 3-1, decision to No. 2 seeded Kean University in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) semifinal round on Saturday afternoon at Alvernia University.

The defeat caps off a successful 15-8 season for the Devils who qualified for two post-season berths.

Both squads played an evenly matched contest with six shots on goal each. The Cougars, however, enjoyed a 12-7 penalty corner advantage and outshot FDU-Florham 11-8.

The Devils came out strong and capitalized on a man-up opportunity when freshman midfielder Jessica Pietracatella tipped in a goal off a feed from senior forward Kim Davis on the Devil's first shot of the game. Davis' assist earned her the No. 2 spot in the program's All-Time Career Assist record with 26 over a four-year career.

However, FDU-Florham's lead was short-lived as Kean utilized a penalty corner to tie up the game on a goal from Lia Dipiazza just three minutes later.

The Cougars then closed out the second half with the game-winning tally from Krista Lamaina in the 17^th minute to secure a 2-1 lead.

The second half opened with an aggressive Cougar attack that recorded four penalty corners and four shots in a 12-minute span which resulted in a score from Lamaina to widen the gap at 3-1 in the 43^rd minute.

FDU-Florham continued to work though, earning penalty corners and making offensive plays but to no avail.

With just five minutes remaining, the Devils were resilient as senior defender Erin O'Connell made a defensive save to keep her team within reach. That was O'Connell's eighth defensive save of the season and 18^th overall which leads the program's All-Time Career Defensive Saves Record.  

Sophomore goalie Samantha Rubin made had to make two saves while facing 11 shots in the loss.

The match was the final game for the five seniors of Davis, O'Connell, Noelle Shirey, Alicia Theoret and Cassidy Egan who led the team to three conference playoff appearances and the program's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 1986 during their tenure.