MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team welcomes East Stroudsburg University to campus on Saturday for its home opener at 11 a.m.

No. 6 SAINT ANSELM COLLEGE HAWKS (0-2, 0-0 NE10)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News

No. 3 EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY WARRIORS (2-0, 0-0 PSAC)
Roster | Schedule & Results | 2022 Statistics | News

Saint Anselm has opened its 2022 season with two consecutive losses to nationally-ranked programs, No. 1 Shippensburg and No. 7 Millersville. In total, the Hawks have been outshot by a commanding 47-to-13 margin, but stout defense and goaltending at key moments has kept Saint Anselm in both games.

East Stroudsburg opened the season with a 3-0 victory against Saint Thomas Aquinas on Thursday, Sept. 1 before punishing No. 4-ranked Assumption, 6-0, last Sunday. In that contest versus the Greyhounds, the Warriors completely overwhelmed the reigning Northeast-10 Conference champions, outshooting them by a 31-to-3 differential.

Live Stats and Live Video are available for Saturday's home opener.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

• Junior Mackenzie McConnell (Concord Township, Maine) was selected as both the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association's Division II Defensive Player of the Week and the NE10 Goalkeeper of the Week for her season-opening efforts.
• McConnell finished last week for Saint Anselm with 25 saves on 28 shots. She made a career high 17 saves as the Hawks were outshot by a 32-to-5 margin on the afternoon against Shippensburg, the reigning NCAA Division II Champions.
• No Saint Anselm goalkeeper had made at least 17 saves in a game since Katherine Sears '17 turned away 19 at nationally-ranked LIU Post on Oct. 26, 2013.
• Against Millersville, sophomore Amanda Lewandowski (Franklin, Mass.) tipped home a ball from senior Avery Tucker (Westbrook, Maine) off a penalty corner to bring the game even at 38:34. The Hawks went on to lose by a 2-1 margin as the Marauders scored just 2:56 after Lewandowski's first marker of the season.
• Saint Anselm is 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 Tucker are the remaining double-digit point-scoring returners for the Hawks.
• In goal, both Sidney Falterer (Fairfield, Conn.) and McConnell 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 EAST STROUDSBURG

• East Stroudsburg, the No. 3-ranked team in NCAA Division II, has made six consecutive NCAA Division II Championship appearances and owns a dominant 102-26 record dating back to the 2015 season.
• The Warriors posted a 16-5 overall record last season, making it all the way to the NCAA semifinals before falling to Shippensburg, the eventual champions, by a 2-1 score. East Stroudsburg got past Bentley, from the NE10, by a 2-1 score in the First Round of NCAA play.
• The Warriors were selected to finish third in the PSAC Preseason Coaches' Poll as well as the squad returns three All-Conference selections, including graduate student Morgan Mesenbrink, senior Lia Parker and classmate Nicole Krozser.
• Krozser has two goals and an assist for five points (2-1=5) so far this season with senior Olivia Breen racking up two goals.
• Breen was also named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's Defensive Athlete of the Week on Tuesday – her efforts helped the Warriors hold opponents to zero goals and just two total shots on net.

ALL-TIME vs. EAST STROUDSBURG

• The Hawks are 1-1 all-time against East Stroudsburg with the one victory standing as arguably the most important in program history.
• Emily Bevens '21 buried a penalty stroke goal in the second overtime period, lifting the Hawks to a 1-0 victory over No. 2 East Stroudsburg in the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship semifinals on Nov. 22, 2019.
• With both teams failing to score through 60 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of the first overtime period, Hannah Friend '20 fired a shot on the goal that was kept out with a defensive save by East Stroudsburg. The ensuing rebound spilled out to the goal mouth before play was whistled down for a defensive infraction, awarding the Hawks a penalty stroke.
• The Hawks, who came into the NCAA Semifinals converting only one of their five chances on penalty strokes all season, turned to Bevens. The junior converted with a shot on the left side of the goal, beating East Stroudsburg's Maddie Richie for what was her first goal since Oct. 7, 2017 against New Haven.
• Saint Anselm would go on to lose to top-ranked West Chester in the National Championship game just two days later, 2-1.
• Most recently, Saint Anselm fell to East Stroudsburg by a 2-1 margin in 2021. Mesenbrink and Breen scored for the Hawks, with the latter's game-winning goal coming early in the fourth quarter.