2023 NCAA Tournament Semifinals: Division I, II & III

Opening Round: Wednesday, November 8

First Round: Friday, November 10

Second Round: Sunday, November 12

Semifinals: Friday, November 17

Championship: Sunday, November 19

Click here for the NCAA Field Hockey Division I interactive bracket.

NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA vs NO. 5 VIRGINIA | 12 PM ET | ESPN+

It’s setting up to be an electric Semifinal match-up between No. 1 North Carolina, and the only team to have defeated them in ACC conference play – No. 5 Virginia.

After narrowly getting past No. 13 Saint Joseph’s, 2-1, in the First Round of the Tournament, Virginia unleashed a powerful performance against Maryland in the Second Round. The Cavaliers, who had lost to the Terrapins 2-1 earlier this season, picked up a 4-0 shutout this time around. The goals came in an even spread, one per quarter, from four different athletes – Dani Mendez-Trendler, Madison Orsi, Minnie Pollock, and Adele Iacobucci. This is Virginia’s sixth trip to the NCAA Semifinals and first since 2019, where they fell 2-1 to Princeton.

The Cavaliers and Tar Heels met twice this year already, splitting the difference. In their first match-up, which was in regular season ACC play, Virginia claimed a 3-2 victory. North Carolina went up 2-0 with a pair of goals from Ryleigh Heck in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers answered right back with three goals in quick succession in the third frame. Noa Boterman got the rally going, assisted by Taryn Tkachuk – who would go on to score the game-winner – with a goal from Emily Field in between. The two teams next met in the ACC semifinal, this time with North Carolina taking the 3-2 victory. It was Heck – the eventual ACC Tournament MVP – who got the scoring started for the Tar Heels in just the first two minutes of play. Not soon after, graduate student Pleun Lammers tallied off a corner, and freshman Charly Bruder buried it on an empty net corner situation in the final few minutes. Jans Croon tallied both goals for Virgina, both on penalty corner plays.

The host of this year’s NCAA Tournament final and semifinal, North Carolina will have the advantage of playing at home in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels opened up their NCAA postseason play with a dominant 6-1 win over Atlantic 10 champion Saint Joseph's, then pulled off a 4-2 victory over champion of the Ivy League, Harvard. North Carolina is in the NCAA Semifinals for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons.

FINAL: NORTH CAROLINA 2, VIRGINIA 0

NORTHWESTERN vs DUKE | 3 PM ET | ESPN+

In a rematch of a five-goal thriller in the ACC/B1G Challenge, No. 2 Northwestern faces No. 3 Duke in the semifinals on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats erased a 2-0 Blue Devils lead in that matchup, winning 3-2, and it sets the stage for what should be an excellent rematch.

All the way back on August 27 at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Il., Northwestern opened up their season with a 1-0 shutout loss to Louisville. Almost 80 days later, the Wildcats — winners of 19 straight games — got a chance to avenge that defeat in the NCAA Quarterfinals. They didn’t waste that chance, moving on to the semifinals with a 3-2 win over the Cardinals behind a 59th minute goal from Lauren Wadas. Her goal, which was with just over a minute left, came after Northwestern twice erased a goal deficit. Ilse Tromp scored the previous two goals while Annabel Skubisz turned away five shots in the win. Northwestern reached the quarterfinals after a comfortable 3-0 shutout of Miami (OH) and now sit at 20-1 with 20 straight wins.

Duke rebounded from a 2-0 loss to No. 1 North Carolina in the ACC championship game with back-to-back wins to start the NCAA Tournament. In the second round, American tied it up in the third quarter only for Barb Civitella to score two minutes later and hand the Blue Devils a 2-1 win. In the quarterfinals, Duke went down in the first quarter against No. 11 Syracuse but Alaina McVeigh converted a penalty stroke to tie it up before halftime. Then, just 40 seconds after the break, Kira Curland set up Hannah Miller for the eventual game-winning goal. The Blue Devils are now 18-4 on the year.

In addition to that 3-2 win — in which Chloe Relford scored the game-winner for the Wildcats — Northwestern has won three straight against Duke. Overall, the Blue Devils lead the all-time series by an 8-4 margin.

First Round: Friday, November 11

Semifinals: Friday, November 17

Championship: Sunday, November 19

Click here for the NCAA Field Hockey Division II interactive bracket.

NO. 1 EAST STROUDSBURG vs NO. 5 ASSUMPTION | 2 PM ET | NCAA

It’s déjà vu for No. 1 East Stroudsburg and No. 5 Assumption as the pair will meet in the NCAA Semifinals for the second consecutive season.

It’s been a strikingly similar year for Assumption, who defeated Saint Anselm in the First Round. For the second year in a row, the Greyhounds were able to turn their 2-1 regular season loss to the Hawks into a 2-1 win in the tournament. Graduate student Lily Daly tallied both goals for the Greyhounds, starting up the scoring in the second quarter then registering the game-winner just one minute after the Hawks found the equalizer in the final frame. It was also a stellar day for junior goalkeeper Paige Gillette, who recorded seven saves.

The Greyhounds are hoping not to repeat their semifinals luck after falling to the Warriors, 3-0, in the same spot last season.

After picking up their second NCAA crown and first since 2015 last season, East Stroudsburg are looking to defend their title. First, they will have to get through Assumption, a team they defeated 5-2 early this fall. The Warriors have fallen just twice this season – a 4-3 OT loss to Pace back in September and a 1-0 defeat to Bloomsburg in October – making their overall record 17-2, the best in Division II. 

The top seed overall, East Stroudsburg was granted a bye in the First Round. Their last contest was on November 5, when they took on No. 2 Shippensburg in the PSAC championship. Trailing 1-0 at the half, the Warriors got on the board late into the third quarter with a goal from Karaline Stelma – her first of the season. The game headed into a first overtime, then a second, only ending when PSAC Athlete of the Year Jady van Gils notched the game-winner in the 77th minute.

FINAL: EAST STROUDSBURG 3, ASSUMPTION 0

NO. 2 SHIPPENSBURG vs NO. 4 KUTZTOWN | 5 PM ET | NCAA

It’s a rematch of the PSAC semifinals as No. 2 Shippensburg takes on No. 4 Kutztown on Friday in the NCAA Division II Semifinals.

It’s an all too familiar match-up for the Raiders and the Golden Bears, who are meeting for the third time this season and 40th in history. Shippensburg has come out on top both times this fall  – 3-2 in conference play and 1-0 in the PSAC semifinal match that took place just two weeks ago. It took the Raiders until overtime to find a goal from offensive leader Tess Jedeloo to advance to the PSAC final, where they eventually fell to East Stroudsburg, 2-1.

Shippensburg returns to the NCAA Semifinals for the 17th time in program history, in search of a sixth national championship title after most recently winning in 2021. The second-ranked Raiders received a bye in the First Round with a 15-4 record and a PSAC final appearance. Shippensburg’s 2022 campaign ended with a 1-0 loss to No. 1 East Stroudsburg in the NCAA Championship. 

Despite having trouble against the Raiders this fall, Kutztown entered into the NCAA Tournament ranked fourth and with a 16-3 record. The Golden Bears added one more to their win column with a first-round victory over Pace. Goals from Breann Craley and Jillian Buchman secured the 2-1 win, while the defense held the Setters to just two shots on goal. Kutztown has been strong on defense this year, with goalkeeper Mia Kepler ranking second in Division II in save percentage (0.818) and number one in goals against average (0.44).

In overall matchups, the Raiders lead 30-9. The Golden Bears were last victorious in the 2022 regular season, when they picked up a 4-1 victory.

First Round: Wednesday, November 8

Second Round: Saturday, November 11

Quarterfinals: Sunday, November 12

Semifinals: Friday, November 17

Championship: Sunday, November 19

Click here for the NCAA Field Hockey Division III interactive bracket.

NO. 14 KEAN vs NO. 4 JOHNS HOPKINS | 12 PM ET | NCAA

Last year’s runner-up No. 4 Johns Hopkins will take on No. 14 Kean — who has registered back-to-back upsets — in the NCAA Semifinals on Friday. 

Kean has been on a Cinderella run this postseason, advancing to the semifinals for the first time in program history. The 14-5 Cougars began their NCAA Tournament dance with a 4-2 win over St. Mary’s in the opening round, then became the first team this season to defeat 17-0 and No. 3 Christopher Newport. Three-time NJAC Goalkeeper of the Year Jenna Flemings tallied a career high 17 saves – including a penalty stroke in overtime – in the victory. 

A follow-up upset came from Kean in the quarterfinals when the Cougars defeated No. 11 Lynchburg, 2-1. It was another banner performance by Flemings, who made 11 saves, allowing Kean to outlast a Lynchburg offense that outshot them 34-12. The Cougars made the most out of the shots they did get off – Peyton Mann tipped in a goal off the post just a minute into the second half to tie the score at 1-1. Ten minutes later on a penalty corner, Mann fed the ball to Laura Stump, who sent the ball into the net for the game-winner.

Now 20-1 on the season with an 18 game win streak, Johns Hopkins will appear in the NCAA semifinals for the fifth consecutive year. The fourth ranked Blue Jays started off the NCAA Tournament with a bye in the first round after being selected as a host site. They took on No. 24 Ithaca in the second round, defeating the Bombers by a 3-1 margin with goals from Gen Mehra, Siena Urbanski, and Zoey Bennett. Johns Hopkins found themselves in a tighter match-up in the quarterfinals against No. 6 Salisbury. Senior Mikayla Schoff found the back of the net in the 38th minute off of a penalty corner strike, and the powerful Blue Jays’ defense kept the Sea Gulls’ offense at bay to retain the lead. Senior goalkeeper Alexis Loder came up with four big saves to help lead her team to another Semifinal appearance.

The Blue Jays and Cougars have only matched up twice before, in 2004 and 2011. In their most recent meeting, Johns Hopkins evened out the record with a 6-3 win.

The winner of this contest will move on to the NCAA Championship, where they will play the winner of Babson versus Middlebury.

FINAL: KEAN 0, JOHNS HOPKINS 2

BABSON vs MIDDLEBURY | 3 PM ET | NCAA

No. 2 Babson will take on reigning champion, No. 1 Middlbury, in the NCAA Semifinals on Friday at 3 p.m. ET.

In Middlebury’s past 20 matches – their entire perfect 2023 campaign – only one team has found themselves within one goal when the final whistle blows: Babson. It was still early in the season, September 17, when the Beavers scored first on Peter Kohn Field. Just two minutes after Jackie Hill had tallied, Katie George opened up what would be three unanswered goals for Middlebury. Babson’s Andrea Marguerite scored in the final five minutes, making it a 3-2 loss. Junior goalkeeper Bayla Furmanek registered her career high 13 saves. 

In Babson’s 22-1 season, only one team has defeated them: Middlebury. The Beavers have beaten every other team they’ve come up against so far this season, including No. 7 Bates and No. 10 Tufts — both in the regular season and in the NCAA Tournament. After their First Round bye, Babson had a narrow 1-0 overtime win against the Wildcats in the Second Round, and shutout the Jumbos, 1-0, to punch their ticket to the Semifinals. A goal from junior Jessica Evans in the third quarter sealed the deal for the Beavers, who limited their opponent to just a single shot on goal.

Also with a first-round bye, Middlebury has cruised through their tournament opponents. After a big 7-0 victory over William Smith, the Panthers took down site host No. 5 Messiah by a comfortable 3-0 scoreline. The Middlebury defense made it easy work for goalkeeper KK Newton, who did not need to make a single save, while Audrey Lazar tacked on two additional goals to George’s game-winner in the sixth minute. NFHCA First Team All-Americans Amy Griffin and George currently lead the Panther offense with 54 and 49 points, respectively.

After the fall of Christopher Newport in the second round, Middlebury remains the only unbeaten team across all divisions of NCAA field hockey. The Panthers are on the hunt for their sixth consecutive NCAA Championship title.

In the duo’s 11 total meetings, Middlebury holds a 10-1 advantage. The Beavers lone win was back in 2017.

Image courtesy of Northwestern Athletics