NESCAC Field Hockey teams went 7-0 in their opening games of the 2025 NCAA Field Hockey Championship. The seven winners join NESCAC Champion Bates as conference teams make up half of the remaining 16 teams in the field.
Second-round games (listed below) are set for Saturday, November 15 and third-round contests will be played on Sunday, November 16. All games during the NCAA Tournament can be watched for free via
ncaa.com/champs-pass and the NCAA Championships Pass app, available on smart TVs.
Highlights from the first round games included a shootout win for Amherst, a double-overtime victory for Hamilton, Tufts tying the Division III record for most goals in an NCAA game (11), and Middlebury Head Coach Katharine DeLorenzo picking up her 500th career victory.
Amherst def. Stevens, 2-1 (2OT, Amherst wins shootout, 4-3) | Box Score
- Junior goalie Grace Puchalski denied four attempts in a seven-round shootout to help Amherst outlast Scranton, 2-1 (4-3 shootout win) in a first-round game in Hoboken, N.J.
- Stevens took a 1-0 lead in the third minute of the second quarter on a penalty corner.
- Amherst answered with three minutes left in the second quarter. Justine Liguori finished off a cross from Molly Donegan to level the game at 1-1.
- Neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal in the remainder of regulation or the two overtime sessions.
- Tied 3-3 after six rounds in the shootout, with successful attempts from Liguori, Emma Zhang, and Genevieve Caruso, Zhang stepped back up to the line and fired a backhand to put the Mammoths ahead. On the deciding goal, Puchalski forced the Stevens player to the right and denied her shots to seal the 2-1 victory for Amherst.
- The win was Amherst’s first NCAA victory since 2011, the Mammoths’ last appearance in the postseason tournament.
Bowdoin def. Scranton, 7-0 | Box Score
- After a scoreless first quarter, Bowdoin scored three times in the second to spark a seven-goal rally in a first-round win over visiting Scranton.
- Ella Davies ignited the rally with a goal at 18:36. The Polar Bears quickly took a 3-0 lead with three goals in four minutes, including back-to-back tallied by Emily Ferguson who finished the game with a hat trick.
- Mackay Bommer added to Bowdoin’s lead just 40 seconds into the third quarter and Hannal Balmelli scored twice in the fourth to close out the scoring in the contest.
- Bowdoin outshot Scranton, 20-1 with a 15-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Hamilton def. SUNY Geneseo, 2-1 (2OT) | Box Score
- Senior Sammy Higgins scored with less than two minutes remaining in the second sudden-victory overtime period to lift Hamilton past SUNY Geneseo, 2-1, in a first-round matchup.
- The Continentals snapped the Knights’ 16-game win streak and handed SUNY Geneseo just its second loss of the 2025 campaign.
- Unsuccessful in its first 12 penalty corner attempts, the Continentals converted on the 13th for the game-winner. Higgins inserted to Claire Tratnyek at the top of the arc who passed to Lilly Truchon. Truchon avoided a defender, took a few steps, and threaded a pass between two SUNY Geneseo players to Higgins on the left post, where she finished off the sequence.
- Hamilton took a 1-0 lead with 5:38 left in the second quarter on a goal off the stick of Becky Felcker.
- The Knights evened the game with 26 seconds left in the second frame, converting their only penalty corner of the contest.
- Hamilton held a 21-4 shot advantage, including 13-1 in the fourth quarter and two overtime periods.
- The Continentals improved to 12-5 on the year, the most wins under head coach Missy Mariano.
Middlebury def. Westfield State, 6-0 | Box Score
- Middlebury scored 56 seconds into its opening round game and never looked back en route to a 6-0 victory over visiting Westfield State.
- The Panthers scored three times in each half and outshot the Owls 49-1 (29-1 shots on goal). Emma Gniadek made 22 saves in the Westfield State net.
- Megan Fuqua led the Panthers, scoring a career-high four and the most by a Panther in an NCAA Tournament game.
- Middlebury extended its NCAA Tournament win streak that dates back to the 2016 season to 29 games.
- Head coach Katharine DeLorenzo picked up her 500th career win in the triumph. She is just the 15th field hockey coach across all three NCAA divisions to reach the 500-win milestone. DeLorenzo carries a career record of 500-134-2.
Tufts def. Dean, 11-0 | Box Score
- Tufts tied the Division III record for goals scored in an NCAA Tournament game and broke the school record for goals in a game with an 11-0 victory over Dean in the first round at Ounjian Field.
- A team has scored 11 goals in an NCAA Division III Tournament game two other times, by Skidmore versus Keene State in 2013 and by Shenandoah against Westfield State in 2024. The previous Tufts school record for most goals in a game was 10 goals against Wesleyan in September 2008.
- The Jumbos scored four goals in the first 6:15 of the game and never looked back.
- Sophie Brants paced Tufts with a hat trick and an assist. Lilly Ragusa, Reagan Malo and Hannah Biccard also scored twice for the Jumbos.
- Sara Gardner was credited with 22 saves in the Dean goal.
- Dean, making the school’s first-ever NCAA appearance in any sport, finished the season with a 16-8 record.
Wesleyan def. Marywood, 7-0 | Box Score
- Wesleyan advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season with a convincing 7-0 win over Marywood.
- Six different Cardinals scored in the contest, led by Meera Patel’s two goals. Wesleyan outshot Marywood, 39-0.
- Marywood’s Bre Marchiano made 22 saves for the game, including 10 consecutive stops in the first quarter.
Williams def. Vassar, 4-0 | Box Score
- Seven different Ephs recorded at least one point in a 4-0 victory over Vassar at Williamson Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Laura Ryan, Anna Miller, Pilar Torres, and Katie Sigrist all scored for the Ephs while Kiki Higgins handed out two assists.
- After a scoreless first half, Miller and Torres gave Williams a 2-0 lead in the third quarter. Sigirst and Ryan added their markers in the final frame.
- Williams held a 25-2 lead in shots and 12-0 advantage in shots on goal.
- Grace Wiley made eight saves for Vassar, which held a 5-1 edge in penalty corners.
Second round games: Saturday, Nov. 15
Third round: Sunday, Nov. 16
Semifinals at Trinity College (Hartford, CT): 12 and 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21 | Live on
NCAA.com
National championship at Trinity College (Hartford, CT): 12 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 23 | Live on
NCAA.com
