MANCHESTER, N.H. – After compiling a 10-2 record against conference competition in the 2025 regular season, the No. 9 Saint Anselm College field hockey team has earned the third seed in the Northeast 10 Conference Championship, and will host Pace University (8-10, 7-5 NE10) in a quarterfinal-round matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4:00 p.m. at Grappone Stadium.
In her 14th year at the helm, head coach Carolyn King-Robitaille has led the Hawks to their 10th consecutive NE10 Championship berth, earning NE10 titles twice (2019, 2023).
Saint Anselm posted a 13-5 overall record and rides a five-game winning streak into its 11th all-time conference playoff appearance.
Coming off its first National Championship campaign in 2024, the team opened the new season at the No. 2 spot in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II National Coaches Poll and in the top spot in the NE10 Coaches' Poll. The Hawks faced off against four nationally-ranked opponents out of six non-conference games, posting a 3-3 record at the start of conference play with a 1-3 mark against ranked squads.
Saint Anselm earned four straight wins in conference games to improve to 7-3 overall, before falling to the eventual No. 2 seed, Adelphi University, by a final of 1-0 on Oct. 4.
After securing a 2-1 victory over American International College on Oct. 8, the Hawks dropped another 1-0 decision, this time to the eventual regular-season champions, Assumption University, on Oct. 11.
The narrow loss to the Greyhounds would be the final defeat of the season for Saint Anselm, who raced to the end of the regular season, putting together a five-game winning streak, with all wins coming via shutout. The Hawks outscored their opponents 22-0 over the final two-week stretch, including a pair of 8-0 victories as well as a thrilling 1-0 victory in double overtime against Bentley University to seal the season series sweep against the Falcons.
Freshman Breanna Shorey leads the team in points with 19, posting six goals and seven assists in the regular season. Her seven helpers sit tied-fourth on the NE10 leaderboard. Junior Meghan Smith and sophomore Meghan Carey follow closely behind with 16 and 15 points, respectively, as junior Kelly Holmes (14), senior Marissa Politano (14), sophomore Ruby Reid (13), senior Millie Forster (12), and sophomore Leila Härtel (12) round out the lengthy double-digit point scorers' list for the Hawks.
Saint Anselm has outscored opponents 60-17 to this point, with nine shutout victories to their credit, which sits tied for second in the all-time record book with the 2021 squad. Helping the Hawks to just 0.94 goals allowed per game, the second-best average in the league, are Forster, a senior back, and junior back Laurentien van den Akker who have each received NE10 Defensive Player of the Week honors. Junior Lindsay Ducharme and senior Ellie Brothers have made major contributions on the defensive end as well, with each player starting in all 18 games, helping limit opponents to just 3.66 penalty corners per game, compared to the Hawks' 11.8 tries per contest, which are an NE10 best.
Backstopping the Hawks is junior Mackenzie Wehrum, who boasts a .814 save percentage and 0.56 goals against average with an 11-3 overall record over 15 games played, including eight solo shutouts and one combined shutout.
The winner of Tuesday night's contest will move on to the NE10 Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 4, with an opponent and location to be determined.
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