WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Eva Valentini (Junin, Argentina) scored on a penalty shot in the 37th minute to propel Saint Francis into the Northeast Conference Tournament and past Stonehill 1-0 in NEC field hockey action on Sunday.
>> The Red Flash, who was 0-for-5 on penalty shots on the year coming into that shot, finally hit the back of the cage and coupled with LIU's 3-2 loss to Fairfield, secured a spot in the league postseason starting on November 4 in Staten Island. Saint Francis defeated LIU 3-2 on October 9 to give the Red Flash the head-to-head advantage and allow the team to clinch on Sunday.
>> Chloe South (California, Md.) and Amber Bryan (Thorndale, Pa.) both made one save in a half of play. Bryan earned her third win on the weekend after playing the final 30 minutes of the match.
 
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Valentini missed a penalty shot on Friday against Merrimack and then the Skyhawks goalkeeper made a diving save on her attempt in the first half to her right. The sophomore changed it up on her second attempt in the second half, going to her left and rattled the cage at the 37:58 mark for the only score of the afternoon. The Red Flash outshot Stonehill 19-2 on the afternoon.
 
FLASH NUGGETS
Valentini notched her 12th goal of the season to now sit in a tie with Autumn Pellman (2011) and Selena Adamshick (2015) for most goals in single-season program history. The three players are the only players in team history to post 12 markers in a season,while Pellman holds the top three marks with 13 (2012), 17 (2013) and 23 (2014), respectively. She also moves into fifth place on the single-season charts with 29 points. On the career lists, Valentini becomes the sixth player in program history to register 50 points in a career and now has 51 points to move into sixth place.
 
Saint Francis will make its fourth appearance in the NEC Tournament and the first since the 2012 season, and will join the 2007, 2011 and 2012 NEC Tournament teams. The Red Flash also made two trips to the Atlantic-10 Tournament in 2014 and 2016 and will be making its first tournament appearance since falling to Saint Joesph's in the Atlantic-10 semifinals in 2016.
 
Both Bryan and South each have three wins on the year in between the pipes.
 
Zeros have been put on the scoreboard on Sundays this season for the Loretto program. Saint Francis has now won a pair of 1-0 shutouts on the year and Sunday, and also has been shutout four times on Sundays.

NEXT GAME
Saint Francis wraps up league play on the road at Sacred Heart on Friday. The game will be played at Yale University and will start at 7 p.m.