MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team opens its season this weekend by taking on stiff competition in the Keystone State.

No. 6 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (0-0, 0-0 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021 Statistics | News

No. 1 SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY RAIDERS (0-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2021 Statistics | News

NO. 7 MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY MARAUDERS (1-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News

The Hawks begin the 2022 season against the reigning NCAA Division II National Champions on Saturday at high noon, facing top-ranked Shippensburg. Saint Anselm returns to action the next day at No. 7 Millersville in yet another 12 p.m. showdown.

Saint Anselm is ranked sixth in NCAA Division II, according to the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches' Association Division II National Coaches Poll released on Tuesday. The Hawks have been mainstays in the NFHCA national poll since late in the 2014 season, missing just 13 weekly polls since then.

Shippensburg, the No. 1 team in the country, was a perfect 20-0 last season on the way to its sixth NCAA Division II national title. The Raiders own an active 20-game winning streak and have also won 11 consecutive NCAA postseason games since the 2016 campaign.

The Hawks are also returning to Millersville, Pa. for the first time since finishing as the national runner-up in 2019. The Marauders opened up with a 3-2 victory over Bentley on Friday, starting the season off on the right foot after logging a 15-4 overall record in 2021.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

• Saint Anselm was projected to finish second in the Northeast-10 Conference, according to the league's annual Preseason Coaches' Poll. A perennial power in NCAA Division II field hockey, Saint Anselm has enjoyed a 99-27 (.786) overall record under Head Coach Carolyn King-Robitaille since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• The Hawks have earned NCAA postseason berths in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 and made it to the National Championship game in the latter campaign, finishing with the NCAA Division II record for shutouts (20) in a season.
• Saint Anselm finished with a 14-5 overall record in 2021 after claiming 11 wins in 14 regular-season games in league play. The Hawks were toppled in the opening round of the NE10 postseason by Pace and will look to return to the NCAA postseason in 2022.
• Maddie Davis (Exeter, N.H.) is the top returning scorer for Saint Anselm, logging five goals and three assists for 13 points (5-3=13) in 17 games off the bench. Joanna Archambault (Andover, Mass.) and Avery Tucker (Westbrook, Maine) are the remaining double-digit point-scoring returners for the Hawks.
• In goal, both Sidney Falterer (Fairfield, Conn.) and Mackenzie McConnell (Concord Township, Maine) return while top defensive options for the Hawks include graduate student Jackie Gaumer (Thornton, N.H.), Lauren Mauretti (Somerset, Mass.), Archambault and Maddison LeBeau (Westbrook, Maine).

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG

• Shippensburg was projected to finish first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll. The program features 15 returning student-athletes from the 2021 campaign, including two All-Conference performers and an NCAA All-Tournament selection.
• The top two scorers from last season for Shippensburg have graduated, but Valu Paul returns after ranking third in point production (9-2=20) across 19 games. Tess Jedeloo, the sixth-highest point scorer from last season, is also back – the program graduated four of its top six scorers from 2021.
• Lindsay Tripodo is projected to remain as the starting goalkeeper for Shippensburg after producing an 0.61 goals-against average and 46 saves – she was declared the victorious backstop in 19 of her team's 20 victories on the way to the National Championship.
• The Raiders are coached by Tara Zollinger, a 2013 graduate of Maryland, and the leader of the 2021 NFHCA Coaching Staff of the Year.

SCOUTING MILLERSVILLE

• The seventh-ranked Marauders picked up a 3-2 victory over No. 8-ranked Bentley on Friday. Millersville overwhelmed the Falcons statistically, posting 16 of the game's 20 shots while earning 17 of the 20 penalty corners in the game.
• Three goal scorers led Millersville while Brynne Ehrlacher had two assists in the winning effort. Codi Bollinger was credited with what proved to be the game-winning goal in the game's 32nd minute.
• Millersville was ousted from the PSAC postseason last year, falling only to the eventual National Championship team from Shippensburg. The team returns nine of their 11 starters from a season ago, including an All-America selection in goal and two goal scorers that potted double-digit goal totals.
• Millersville is led by Shelly Behrens, who has logged nine consecutive seasons with a winning percentage of 65% or higher.

ALL-TIME vs. SHIPPENSBURG, MILLERSVILLE

• Saint Anselm and Shippensburg have not faced each other in program history.
• The lone game played between Millersville and Saint Anselm came in the NCAA Division II postseason in 2017. The loss for the Hawks came in the NCAA First Round on penalty strokes, 1-0, in a game played at home in Grappone Stadium.