MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College field hockey team, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II, will host the Setters from Pace University on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. The game will officially open Northeast-10 Conference play for both programs.

No. 3 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (2-0, 0-0 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021 Statistics | News

PACE UNIVERSITY SETTERS (2-1, 0-0 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021 Statistics | News

Saint Anselm is off to a 2-0 start after notching season-opening victories over Franklin Pierce and New Haven last weekend. The Setters picked up back-to-back victories to open the year, downing Saint Thomas Aquinas and American International, but have since fallen to Bloomsburg as recently as this Tuesday.

Live Statistics and Live Video are available for Saturday's showdown at Grappone Stadium.

PREVIEWING THE HAWKS

• Saint Anselm trailed Franklin Pierce by a 1-0 score in the opener last Saturday, but potted six unanswered goals to capture the win. The Hawks finished with the decisive advantage in shots (27-5) and were awarded 12 of the game's 16 total penalty corners.
• A steady Saint Anselm defense gave up four of the five Franklin Pierce shots in the first 13 minutes of play, but the Ravens mustered just one shot across the remaining three-plus quarters of play. Sophomore Mackenzie McConnell (Concord Twp., Maine) recorded her second career win for the Hawks, making two saves on three shots.
• Against New Haven on Sunday, the Hawks broke a 1-1 halftime tie with the Chargers with the game's final four goals. Junior Maeve Murphy (Scituate, Mass.) scored twice and was joined by senior Sarah Bagley (North Andover, Mass.) and junior Shelby Dunn (Yarmouthport, Mass.) on the scoresheet.
• Freshman netminder Sidney Falterer (Fairfield, Conn.), making her collegiate debut, was up to the task and stopped five out of six total shots that she faced in the opening 30 minutes. New Haven was awarded four of the game's first six penalty corners, but could not capitalize on any of those opportunities.
• With an eight-save debut, Falterer posted the most saves by a Hawks goalkeeper in her collegiate debut since Katherine Sears '17 halted eight shots against American Int'l on Oct. 5, 2013.
• Murphy was selected as the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week on Monday. Against Franklin Pierce on Saturday, Murphy had an assist on the game-winning goal by freshman Amanda Lewandowski (Franklin, Mass.). Versus the Chargers on Sunday, Murphy had a hand in three of her team's four goals, scoring twice and assisting another.
• Including the 2019 NCAA Division II National Championship game, Murphy has scored at least one point of offense in three of the last four games she has played. Across a 26-game career on the Hilltop, the 2019 NE10 All-Rookie Team pick has helped Saint Anselm to a dominant 23-3 record while tallying six goals and two assists for 14 points (6-2=14).
• Murphy became just the seventh student-athlete from Saint Anselm to earn Player of the Week distinction from the NE10. The last member of the Hawks roster to collect such honors was then-freshman Carly LaCasse (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) on Oct. 1, 2019.

PROJECTING PACE

• Pace is led by Kayte Kinsley, the 2018 NE10 Coach of the Year and only the second coach that the Setters have known. She won her 50th career game last time out against American International on Sept. 4.
• 10 student-athletes have logged at least one point of offense so far across three games. Goalkeeper Grace Henderson, a long-time opponent of the Hawks, has conceded just one goal on 13 shots faced and opened her season with two shutouts. She was the recipient of 2018 NE10 Rookie of the Year honors.
• Joining the varsity ranks in 2015, Pace posted six wins in its first campaign and then logged its first .500 season (9-9) in 2016. In 2017 and 2018, however, the Setters broke out for 33 wins in 40 games and made their mark on the national field hockey landscape. Just four members of the 2018 roster remain on the team.
• The Setters won just six games in 2019, one season removed from downing Saint Anselm by a 6-1 margin in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Championship. Pace would eventually lose to the No. 2 seeded Warriors from East Stroudsburg University in the National Semifinals.

ALL-TIME vs. PACE

• The Hawks own a 4-2 edge in the all-time series that dates back to the first year of field hockey at Pace.
• Saint Anselm won the first three games against Pace but dropped a 2-1 decision to the Setters in Pleasantville, N.Y. during the 2018 regular season.
• Pace finished that year with an unblemished record in NE10 regular-season play (13-0) and later downed the Hawks by a 6-1 score in the First Round of the NCAA postseason.
• The Hawks rebounded with a convincing 4-0 victory over the Setters on Oct. 12, 2019. LaCasse had a hand in each goal scored in the shutout as the Hawks enjoyed a 29-1 advantage in shots.