Weekend College Games: Division II & III Season Opener

Each week, USA Field Hockey highlights upcoming college games to watch. This edition covers opening weekend for Division II and III.

 

DII: NO. 4 KUTZTOWN vs NEW HAVEN | 3:00 PM ET | GOLDEN BEARS SPORTS NETWORK

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One of just a few games that mark the beginning of the Division II season on Thursday, No. 4 Kutztown opens their 2023 campaign by hosting New Haven. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

A newer program that had its inaugural season in 2017, New Haven has been working to make a name for themselves in Division II field hockey. The Chargers finished the 2022 season with a sub-.500 record, but held their own in the Northeast-10 (NE10) conference – even picking up a 2-1 win over then-No. 7 Assumption.

On the other side of the pitch will be the much more established Kutztown. The Golden Bears had a tremendously successful 2022 season, and will look to capitalize off that momentum – starting with their first game of 2023.

 

 

DIII: NO. 21 BRYN MAWR vs CENTRE | 1:00 PM ET | CENTENNIAL NETWORK

OneMoreShot

Meeting for the very first time, No. 21 Bryn Mawr will open their season against reigning Southern Athletic Association (SAA) champion Centre.

Bryn Mawr has really made a name for themselves in recent years as head coach Victor Brady enters his eighth season of leading the Owls. Last fall, Bryn Mawr finished their best season to date with a 15-5 record and a Centennial Conference championship game appearance. The Owls narrowly missed making an NCAA postseason appearance – falling 2-1 to Johns Hopkins after seven rounds of shootouts.

Hailing from Danville, Ky., Centre will be making a trip out to the Main Line to play Bryn Mawr on Friday and Haverford on Sunday. The Colonels finished out their 2022 season with a 10-7 record and their third SAA conference title in five years. 

  

DII: NO. 7 SAINT ANSELM vs NO. 5 MILLERSVILLE | 2:00 PM ET | NE10 NOW

Chris Sponagle/Kutztown University

No. 7 Saint Anslem will kick off the season by testing their strength against three top-five opponents – starting with No. 5 Millersville on Friday. The Hawks will then face No. 3 West Chester on Sunday before a match against No. 2 Shippensburg next week.

Saint Anslem will be looking to get a win after ending their ‘22 campaign with two narrow overtime losses. After falling to Adelphi in the NE10 Semifinals, the Hawks concluded their season with a loss to Assumption in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Last season was just the second time the Hawks and the Marauders clashed. After a slow start, Millersville picked up the pace to clinch a 2-1 victory.

 

DII: NO. 2 SHIPPENSBURG vs NO. 9 MOUNT OLIVE | 3:00 PM ET |  PSAC NETWORK

Danielle Trimbur

In a top-ten matchup, No. 2 Shippensburg will host No. 9 Mount Olive in Shippensburg, Pa., on Friday afternoon.

Mount Olive has a tough task ahead in taking on the Raiders, who were Division II champions in 2021 and runner-up in 2022. After falling to PSAC foe East Stroudsburg in the 2022 NCAA Championship, Shippensburg has landed at No. 2 in both the PSAC Preseason Poll and the Division II preseason rankings.

The Trojans were chosen to finish first in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Preseason Poll, while the 13-player SAC Preseason All-Conference First Team features six of their players.

The pair matched up for the first time last fall and Shippensburg secured a comfortable 4-1 victory.

DIII: NO. 11 THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY (TCNJ) vs CATHOLIC | 4:30 PM ET | TCNJ WEBCASTS

Last September, it took a 67th-minute goal for TCNJ to take down Catholic, 1-0. Now, ranked 11th in the preseason NFHCA poll, the Lions will look to run its all-time winning streak to seven against the Cardinals on Saturday.

In head coach Rachel Palumbo’s second season, Catholic concluded their 2022 with a 11-8 record, but not before defeating Moravian 4-2 in the Landmark championship match. With the win, the Cardinals picked up the Landmark Conference trophy and solidified a spot in the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2015. Catholic will see the return of eight starters, including All-Landmark selection Gracie Burford. 

The No. 11 Lions made their own journey into the NCAA postseason last fall, where they also suffered a one-goal loss to Trinity a round after Catholic did.. TCNJ will return offensive leader and Second Team All-American selection Rayhanah Ahmed.

DIII: NO. 3 ROWAN vs URSINUS | 7:00 PM ET | YOUTUBE

Lee Kotzen

No. 3 Rowan will open their season with a match against neighboring Ursinus, a traditional meeting since 2016.

Rowan has been making runs in recent years, going as far as the NCAA Semifinal in 2018, 2021, and 2022 – but never pushing into the Final. The Profs finished 21-2 last fall, falling 4-0 to Middlebury in the Semifinals.

The Bears worked hard to keep a winning record last fall and ended up at 10-9 after falling to then-No.4 Johns Hopkins 3-2 in the Centennial Conference semifinals. Their last NCAA postseason appearance was in 2021, when they fell to Scranton 3-2 in overtime in the First Round.

The pairing almost always makes for an interesting match, with Rowan winning the past four meetings after losing the previous 11. In 2022, the Profs picked up a 2-1 victory over the Bears.  

 

 

DIII: NO. 2 JOHNS HOPKINS vs NO. 16 WASHINGTON & LEE | 2:00 PM ET |  W&L ALL-ACCESS

A neutral-site, top-20 matchup between No. 2 Johns Hopkins and No. 16 Washington & Lee is the highlight of Saturday’s slate of games. While the Blue Jays hold a sterling 16-1 record against the Blue and White, five of the last six meetings have been decided by a single goal — with three requiring extra time.

Johns Hopkins made an admirable push to dethrone Middlebury in last year’s NCAA Championship, falling 1-0. The Blue Jays, winners of four consecutive Centennial Conference crowns, return key pieces like leading goalscorer Siena Urbanski, midfielder Mikayla Schoff, and goaltender Alexis Loder.

Washington & Lee, meanwhile, has won back-to-back Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) titles but was picked to finish behind Lynchburg this preseason. The Blue and White, under reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Gina Wills, will hope to make a statement in their opening weekend. Betty Boatwright was the conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2022, while defender Jenny Lerner was First Team All-ODAC.