HADLEY, Mass. – Top-seeded Middlebury will host the NESCAC Field Hockey Championship weekend on November 5-6 at Kohn Field. The Panthers are the four-time defending NESCAC Champion and will face No. 5 Williams in the first semifinal on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. No. 2 Tufts faces No. 3 Trinity at 1:30 in the second semifinal. The winners will square off on Sunday, Nov. 6 at Noon.
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Championship Central
2022 NESCAC FIELD HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, October 29 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Middlebury def. No. 8 Hamilton, 5-1
No. 2 Tufts def. No. 7 Bates, 1-0
No. 3 Trinity def. No. 6 Bowdoin, 2-0
No. 5 Williams def. No. 4 Amherst, 2-1
Saturday, November 5 at Middlebury
Semifinals
No. 5 Williams vs. No. 1 Middlebury - 11 a.m.
No. 3 Trinity vs. No. 2 Tufts - 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 6 at Middlebury
Final - 12 p.m. - Semifinal winners
Middlebury (15-1) reached the semifinals for the 11th consecutive season following a 5-1 win over No. 8 Hamilton In the quarterfinal round. Junior Katie George, who ranks second on the squad in scoring with 25 points (10G, 5A), scored two goals to lead the Panthers past the Continentals. Sophomore Amy Griffin leads the NESCAC in scoring with 43 points on 16 goals and 11 assists. Defensively, senior Grace Harlan is tied for the best goals against average in the NESCAC (0.81). The Panthers have scored a league-best 85 goals while limiting opponents to just 12 this season. Middlebury has played in the past 10 NESCAC Championship games and owns eight titles.
Williams (12-4) moved into the semifinal round behind a dramatic 2-1 win over No. 4 Amherst. First-year Kiki Higgins notched the game-winning goal with just 12 seconds remaining in regulation. The Ephs have played in four of the last five semifinals, but are looking to reach the championship game for the first time since 2005. The Ephs have won seven of their last eight games, the lone loss being to Middlebury in the regular season finale. Senior Emily Batchelor leads Williams in scoring with 42 points and has scored the most goals in the NESCAC (19). Higgins has totaled a team-best seven assists to go with seven goals for 21 points. Senior Carson Stephenson has started all 16 games in goal for the Ephs and has split time with junor Gates Tenerowicz. Stephenson matches Harlan for the top goals against average in the league (0.81) and owns a .759 save percentage with a 10-3 record while Tenerowicz carries a 1.20 goals against average and .690 save percentage in 15 games played. The Ephs, who have outscored opponents 54-16 this season, are 8-1 on the road.
Williams owns a 4-3 advantage over Middlebury in the NESCAC Tournament series, and six of the seven tournament games have been decided by one goal. The two teams last met in the 2011 quarterfinals where the Panthers picked up their third win of the series with a 3-0 victory. Middlebury also posted a 4-1 win over the Ephs in the final game of the regular season on October 25.
Tufts (11-5), which has finished as the NESCAC Runner-Up in two of the past three NESCAC Tournaments, advanced via a 1-0 triumph over No. 7 Bates. Senior Reegan McCluskey’s goal in the 37th minute stood up for the Jumbos to propel them into the semifinals for the fourth year in a row and the ninth time in the last 10 seasons. McCluskey has started all 16 games and is the leading scorer for Tufts with 21 points (9G, 3A). Senior Sam Gibby has played every minute in net for the Jumbos and owns a 1.21 goals against average with a .756 save percentage and a NESCAC-best five shutouts this season. Gibby has the second-most saves among the remaining goalkeepers in the tournament with 62. Tufts is 7-1 in road games this year.
Trinity (13-3) blanked No. 6 Bowdoin, 2-0, to advance to the NESCAC Semifinals for the second straight season and the fourth time in five years. Sophomore Ashley Zigler scored in the 29th minute and junior Katrina Winfield added an insurance goal in the 52nd minute in the victory. Winfield is the leading scorer for the Bantams with 25 points on a team-high 11 goals and three assists. Caelin Flaherty has tallied 23 points and has handed out a team-best nine assists to go with seven markers. Junior Olivia McMichael has played all but 15 minutes in the Trinity cage and has the most saves of any goalkeeper left in the tournament (65). McMichael has a 0.88 goals against average and leads the NESCAC with a .823 save percentage. Trinity enters the game having won four of its last five games and is 6-1 in road games this year.
Tufts is 5-1 against the Bantams in the NESCAC Championship, including a 2-0 victory in the last meeting between the two teams in the 2015 quarterfinals. The Jumbos posted a 2-0 victory over Trinity on October 2 when the teams squared off during the regular season.
