Weekend College Games: September 7 – 13
Each week, USA Field Hockey highlights upcoming college games to watch. This edition covers the week of September 7 – 13, 2023.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
DI: NO. 19 DELAWARE vs NO. 15 PRINCETON | 5:00 PM ET | FLOSPORTS ($)
Despite starting off their season with a tough 4-3 loss to VCU, the Blue Hens found themselves in the national rankings this week after three straight wins. Their recent 4-2 win over Columbia was headlined by a hat trick from senior Kiki Oudshoorn, who was crowned the NFHCA Division I Offensive Player of the Week. With at least one goal in all four matches so far, Oudshoorn now leads the CAA in goals (9) and the NCAA in goals per game (2.25).
Alternatively, Princeton took a dip in their ranking after losing their two opening weekend matches. The Tigers spent their weekend at the University of Pennsylvania for the ACC/Ivy League Crossover, where they were edged out 2-1 by then-No. 9 Louisville and took then-No. 1 North Carolina to overtime in an eventual 2-1 defeat.
A long-time rivalry with 32 matchups since 1973, the Tigers have a slight 17-15 overall advantage, and have won the previous four matches.
DI: NO. 16 BOSTON COLLEGE vs BOSTON UNIVERSITY | 6:00 PM ET | ESPN+ ($)
After winning their first two games, Boston College suffered a pair of 1-0 overtime losses in the ACC/B1G Challenge this past weekend. Despite the blow to their record, the Eagles defense proved themselves extremely capable against some of the top opponents in the nation – No. 2 Northwestern and No. 3 Maryland.
The Terriers split last weekend with a 3-2 overtime victory over Maine and a 2-1 loss to Ohio. Ireland native Alex Purcell picked up Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors after scoring the tying goal to send the game against Maine into overtime.
In this historic matchup that spans nearly 50 years, Boston College holds a 23-18 advantage over Boston University. Despite being the stronger team in recent history, the Eagles often face high pressure from the Terriers. Nine of the past 11 matchups have been one-goal games, with four of them going into overtime. The duo’s previous meeting was late last season and ended with a 3-1 Boston College victory, who has won in 10 out of those past 11 matchups.
DII: SLIPPERY ROCK vs FROSTBURG STATE | 6:00 PM ET | ROCK ATHLETICS
Frostburg State, playing their third road game of four consecutive to start the year, dispatched Converse and Wingate over Labor Day weekend. Trailing Converse entering the final quarter, the Bobcats tied the game before Paige Leitzel scored the winner. Emilie Bonhivert tallied two goals in the 3-2 win. Lina Goetz scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Wingate while Zoe Barnes secured a two-save shutout.
The Rock, meanwhile, was taking part in the Theresa Check Invitational in Oxford, Ohio. Slippery Rock dropped their opener to American International, 2-0, but rebounded with a dramatic shootout victory over Maryville. The Rock went down a pair of goals early and likely feared a repeat of the opener, but Gianni Conti scored twice to set up overtime. Eventually, Maryville missed four of five shots as Slippery Rock claimed the shootout, 2-1.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
DII: NO. 7 SAINT ANSELM vs NO. 2 SHIPPENSBURG | 11:00 AM ET | NE10 NOW
Last Sunday, two days after falling to No. 5 Millersville by a 3-1 score, Saint Anselm rebounded to knock off No. 3 West Chester in overtime. The Hawks trailed early at Grappone Stadium before Maggie Burchill tied it up in the second quarter. Eventually, with just over a minute left in the first overtime, Stephanie Sutton-Brown scored the game winner. Sutton-Brown earned Northeast-10 (NE10) Player of the Week honors, while goalie Mackenzie McConnell — who had 14 saves in two games — was the conference's Goalkeeper of the Week.
It’s been smooth sailing thus far for the second-ranked Raiders. After a stinging 1-0 defeat in last year’s championship against East Stroudsburg, Shippensburg has come out firing with 10 goals in two games — both decisive victories over No. 9 Mount Olive and Belmont Abbey. Tess Jedeloo, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Field Hockey Athlete of the Week, has four goals and an assist to open the year after a 30-point campaign a season ago.
DIII: NO. 5 WILLIAMS vs NO. 7 BABSON | 11:00 AM ET | NSN
Babson has two wins under their belt and take on Roger Williams on Thursday. Nearby foes in Endicott and Connecticut College went down by 4-0 and 3-1 scorelines, with the latter requiring a pair of fourth-quarter goals from Camille Marsh. Teammate Meara Hanyon also has two goals on the young season while Babson’s defense has been stifling.
Williams coasted past Clark in their opener, winning 8-0 to open up a three-game homestand. Seven different Ephs scored in the win with Kiki Higgins pacing the group with two goals. It was a strong start to the year for Williams, who are looking to build on last year’s run to the semifinals. The Ephs were in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 and won three games — reaching the final four for the first time in history— and are now a top-five team in the country.
DIII: NO. 3 ROWAN vs NO. 2 JOHNS HOPKINS | 1:00 PM ET | YOUTUBE
No. 2 Johns Hopkins (2-1) nearly dethroned Middlebury last season, instead falling in overtime. The Blue Jays have a gauntlet of a schedule: Six straight games against ranked opponents to start 2023. They’ve beaten No. 16 Washington & Lee and No. 25 Shenandoah, but dropped their most recent game against No. 13 York, 3-1. After this Saturday’s meeting, they prepare for conference play with games against No. 4 Salisbury and No. 8 Messiah. Siena Urbanski is the reigning Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week after a two-goal week.
No. 3 Rowan (2-1) is off to a similar start, although Saturday’s matchup will be its first against a ranked opponent. The Profs sandwiched wins over Ursinus and Swarthmore with a 2-1 setback against Catholic. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak against the Cardinals. All three games were decided by a single goal and four different players have tallied for Rowan. Notable for the Profs incoming class, freshman Abby Petrich scored her first career goal — a gamewinner against Swarthmore.
DIII: NO. 8 MESSIAH vs NO. 4 SALISBURY | 1:00 PM ET | GOMACSPORTS.TV
Salisbury has scored a remarkable 19 goals in three games, cruising past DePauw, Stockton, and Washington (Md.). Dating back to the start of last season, the Sea Gulls are 21-1 and have outscored their opponents by a 95-14 margin. Emma Radebaugh earned Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Offensive Player of the Week honors after four goals and an assist in her first two games. This will be the first of two road games against ranked opponents for the Seagulls with No. 2 Johns Hopkins awaiting on Wednesday.
Messiah, on the other hand, has dispatched a pair of Pennsylvania foes in Dickinson and Franklin and Marshall to start the year. The Falcons needed overtime in the opener, winning 3-2 behind Mallory Kline’s gamewinner. Kline earned the MAC Commonwealth Offensive Player of the Week honor as a result. History isn’t on Messiah’s side heading into this matchup — they’ve loss three straight narrow games to the Sea Gulls, all decided by a single score.
DIII: NO. 1 MIDDLEBURY vs NO. 10 AMHERST | 2:00 PM ET | NSN
For a team that has enjoyed dominating Division III over the last five years, it was only fitting that the Panthers started off their 2023 campaign with a 12-0 win. First Team All-American Katie George opened her senior season in style with four goals, while another big-name returner in Amy Griffin tallied a goal plus two assists. New offensive talent shone through with two goals from first year Shawna Ferraro.
Amherst opened up their season by defeating Smith, 6-1, at home. Senior Muffie Mazambani started off the season strong with two goals and an assist, while junior Sam Maynard picked up a goal and an assist. The Mammoths will need to see their defensive line on the top of their game on Saturday to take on the Panthers’ strong attack.
Despite playing each other every season, the Mammoths have not picked up a victory over the Panthers since 2011. Middlebury leads 24-5 in overall meetings after defeating Amherst, 3-1, in 2022.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10
DI: NO. 6 VIRGINIA vs NO. 14 HARVARD | 12:00 PM ET | ACCNX ($)
The Cavaliers already have a pair of top-25 wins, dispatching then-No. 5 Penn State in their opener and most recently knocking off No. 11 Saint Joseph’s, 2-1. Virginia did fall to No. 9 Liberty — Harvard’s opponent on Friday — but enter this weekend coming off of a 6-0 shutout of Temple. The Cavaliers are paced by Daniela Mendez-Trendler, who already has eight points with three goals and a pair of assists.
Harvard brings a 2-0 record into the weekend after winning an overtime thriller against then-No. 15 UConn. The Crimson, led by Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week Lucy Leel, traded blows with the Huskies in a four-goal third quarter that saw the teams enter overtime tied at two apiece. Marie Schaefers went on to score the gamewinner in the 70th minute. They’ll look to continue their success against ranked teams with a Friday matchup at No. 9 Liberty before taking on Virginia.
DI: NO. 13 DUKE vs NO. 9 LIBERTY | 1:00 PM ET | ACCNX ($)
Throughout an impressive 4-0 start, Liberty has captured wins against Kent State, Indiana, No. 6 Virginia, and American. Their most recent victory over the Eagles came in a shootout after the two teams were stuck 0-0 after two overtime periods. Helping to propel the Flames was two saves in regulation and three crucial shootout saves from Azul Iritxity Irigoyen, who now ranks second in the nation in save percentage (.889) and picked up the NFHCA Division I Defensive Player of the Week honor. On the offensive end, graduate student Bethany Dykema tallied two goals and an assist in their 3-1 victory over Virginia, and now sits with six points.
At the ACC/B1G Cup last weekend, Duke made waves with a 2-1 win over No. 3 Maryland. The Blue Devils almost succeeded in following it up with another upset, but could not find the momentum to withstand No. 2 Northwestern – falling 3-2. Sophomore Alaina McVeigh and junior Logan Clouser tallied a goal in both matches.
When the pair last met in 2021, Liberty logged a 5-2 win. The Flames have claimed victory in the last two meetings, while the Blue Devils had won the first six between them.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12
DII: NO. 3 WEST CHESTER vs NO. 8 ADELPHI | 4:00 PM ET | PSAC NETWORK
West Chester began their season with an extended weekend trip that consisted of three matches against Northeast-10 (NE10) opponents. The Golden Rams handily defeated No. 6 Assumption in their opener, 6-1, but found themselves suffering a 2-1 overtime upset loss at the hands of No. 7 Saint Anslem.
Also kicking off their season with a 6-1 victory, Adelphi downed Molloy on the road last weekend. Junior Ali Nagy scored two goals on the day, then tallied another in the Panthers 4-2 defeat to Newberry. In their most recent match, Adelphi took a big 8-1 loss against No. 1 East Stroudsburg.
The Panthers will look to retaliate after a 10-1 loss last season to the Rams in the NCAA Quarterfinal. West Chester has won in all six of their matchups.
Images courtesy of: Andrew Miller/Shippensburg Athletics, VCU Athletics, Matt Woolverton/BU Athletics, James T Vanrenssllaer/Johns Hopkins Athletics, Will C Images/Middlebury Athletics, Nat LeDonne/Duke Athletics