MADISON, N.J. -- After 11 goals were scored in the first meeting between the two teams, the FDU-Florham field hockey team only needed one tally on Wednesday night to defeat Wilkes University and advance to the Freedom Conference Championship Game.

The Devils (12-7, 6-1 Freedom) will host second-seeded Misericordia University (13-7, 5-2 Freedom) in the championship game this Saturday, November 8th with start time set for 1 p.m. at Robert T. Shields Field. The Cougars defeated DeSales University 5-0 earlier in the day to advance to the championship game.

On Wednesday night, the two defenses made it clear that this would not be a repeat of the first meeting. The Devils locked down the Lady Colonel attack and held them without a single shot attempt over the first 35 minutes of action.

Six minutes into play, the Devils earned a golden scoring chance when sophomore forward Kim Davis (Long Branch, N.J.) fired a rocket that was destined for the back of the cage, however, Wilkes defender Stephanie Hahn stepped in with a crucial defensive save to keep the Devils off of the board.

In addition to not allowing a single shot, FDU-Florham also held Wilkes without a penalty corner in the first half and the game went into the break knotted at 0-0. 

FDU-Florham came out aggressive to start the second half and earned a penalty corner 2:28 into the period. Off of the corner, senior midfielder Niki Ikeda (Lawrence, N.J.) sent a blast toward the right side of the cage but it sailed just wide. However, at the 40:20 mark, FDU-Florham's Alicia Grotyohann (Lafayette, N.J.) swatted a shot off of the left post that ricocheted back in front of the cage and onto the stick of Ikeda, who promptly sent it past Wilkes goalkeeper Alexis Reed for the game's deciding goal. Ikeda's score was her 10th of the season and her fourth game-winner.

The Devils defense did an excellent job to neutralize Wilkes' leading scorer Marissa Surdy but the freshman forward earned an excellent chance in the 56th minute. After receiving a penalty corner pass, Surdy fired a shot ticketed for the back of the cage but Devils goalkeeper Amy Defnet (Poolesville, Md.) was up to task and stuffed the shot to preserve the one-goal lead. Aided by great backline play, Defnet only needed to make two stops in the contest.

The Lady Colonels' best chance to even the score came at the 65:09 mark when they were awarded a penalty stroke. Maura Anistranki  stepped up to take the shot but hooked it wide left. Anistrankski's chance was the last scoring opportunity of the game for Wilkes as the Devils held on for the final five minutes to secure the victory.

This is the first Freedom Conference Championship Game appearance for the Devils since 2011 when they lost to Eastern University 3-2 in overtime. A victory on Saturday would send the Devils to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.

Saturday's game can be watched live or followed via live stats.