Congratulations 2025 College Division I Conference Winners

UNC Athletics

Eleven wins in a row. Nine consecutive ACC Tournament titles. There are few teams that consistently hit their stride late in seasons like North Carolina, who swept through Louisville, Kentucky, to further extend its reign over the ACC with its 28th championship. The Tar Heels, behind back-to-back braces from tournament MVP Dani Mendez, locked up the NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed with a 4-1 win over Virginia in the final.

North Carolina last lost on September 26 in double overtime and has since outscored opponents by a decisive 41-12 margin. The closest game of its 3-0 week at the ACC Tournament was its first one, a narrow 2-1 victory over the host Cardinals in which freshman Isabel Boere netted the game winner with a little over seven minutes left in the fourth. The offense outshot Louisville, 20-2, and provided a look at what was to come in the next two games.

Against Duke in the semifinals and Virginia in the final, North Carolina scored nine goals on 30 shots and were ruthlessly efficient. Mendez scored twice in both games and plenty of other Tar Heels found the back of the cage. Charly Bruder had two goals, Boere had two assists, and Ryleigh Heck had a goal and an assist. Heck, Bruder, and Reese Anetsberger joined Mendez on the All-Tournament team.

In a conference in which four teams earned NCAA Tournament at-large bids alongside the Tar Heels, the program’s continued dominance is remarkable. North Carolina’s streak of nine in a row is the longest in the conference’s storied history and they have more titles than the rest of the field combined.

Photo by Keith Lucas / Atlantic 10

There’s a famous motto that Saint Joseph’s leans on: “The Hawk Will Never Die.” That was certainly the case in Richmond, Virginia, as the third-seeded Hawks pulled off back-to-back upsets to extend its reign over the Atlantic 10 conference. Saint Joseph’s, last year’s national runners-up after an inspired run in the NCAA Tournament, are once again putting it together at the right time.

The Hawks’ fifth straight A10 championship run began with a dramatic semifinal win over No. 2 VCU. Saint Joseph’s had caught the Rams off guard with a first-half flurry, taking a 2-0 lead into the break behind goals from Milou Kluyt and Emily Tammaro. That advantage disappeared in the second half as VCU tied it up and forced overtime. It felt a shootout was inevitable as the time ticked down in double overtime, but Kluyt tallied her second goal of the game off a penalty corner to send the Hawks through.

Twenty-two days after a 2-0 loss to the top-seeded Spiders, Saint Joseph’s avenged that regular season loss with a flipped scoreline. The Hawks held Richmond’s high-flying offense to just one shot on goal and, after taking the lead in the fifth minute thanks to Kluyt, never looked back. Ava Smith provided the late insurance in the final two minutes and provided Saint Joseph’s an opportunity to again make noise in the NCAA Tournament under fourth-year head coach Hannah Prince.

Kluyt, with three goals, earned the A10 Most Outstanding Player award. Teammates Page Kieft, Tristan Groff, Emily Tammaro, and Emma Winthers joined her on the All-Championship team.

Liberty Athletics

The No. 1 seed Liberty Flames captured their third BIG EAST Field Hockey Championship with a 2–1 overtime victory over No. 2 UConn on Sunday at Liberty Field Hockey Field. Senior Lou Combrinck scored the decisive goal at 62:29, giving Liberty its first BIG EAST title on home turf and the program’s fifth conference championship overall.

Liberty opened the scoring in the first quarter when Morena Giacosa netted an unassisted goal at 14:36. UConn answered in the second quarter as Zita Grigoliet drilled a rebound to tie the game 1–1, and the score remained deadlocked through regulation despite UConn outshooting Liberty 11–1 in the second half.

In overtime, Liberty converted a penalty corner when freshman Julieta Tornati fed Combrinck, who turned and fired a shot past UConn goalkeeper Natalie McKenna to clinch the championship. Combrinck was named BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Player after contributing three points over the tournament, while goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin made seven saves in the victory.

Joining Combrinck on the All-Tournament Team were Saint Martin, Giacosa, and defender Dara Semmartin. Liberty, which improves to 17–2 and carries a seven-game winning streak, earns the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Championship.

Photo by Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics

In 2023, Northwestern won just its second Big Ten (B1G) tournament championship, the prior coming back in 2014. The Wildcats didn’t have to wait as long for another. The defending national champions shut out Iowa, 3-0, to add yet another trophy to its cabinet as they won both the B1G regular season title and tournament title for the second time in program history.

It was a dominant conference campaign for Northwestern, who bring a seven-game win streak into next week’s NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats finished the regular season a perfect 8-0 in B1G play with 34 goals scored to just three allowed. Their first round game against Michigan bucked that defensive trend as the rematch of the 2024 championship game saw a combined eight goals scored. 

After Northwestern’s Grace Schulze and Ashley Sessa scored, Michigan quickly answered with two second quarter goals. Just 33 seconds after the equalizer, Schulze tallied again but the advantage disappeared in the third when Claire Taylor converted a stroke. The fourth quarter was all Wildcats, though, as Illse Tromp assisted Maja Zivojnovic before scoring her own to punch their ticket to the title with a 5-3 win. The final had early drama with a scoreless first half, btu Schulze, Tromp, and Sessa tallied second-half goals to pull away.

Schulze, who tallied three goals and an assist in two games, nabbed the Most Outstanding Player honor. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Sessa, who matched her points total (7) thanks to two goals and three assists.

Drexel Athletics

Drexel returned to the winner’s circle for the first time since 2012, capturing the CAA Field Hockey Championship, and edging top-seeded Monmouth 3-2. Valentine Van Hellemont, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, set up two goals and scored one herself, leading the Dragons to their first conference title in 13 years and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Drexel opened the scoring in the 19th minute on a penalty corner, as Natali Foster redirected an insert from Van Hellemont into the cage. Monmouth answered early in the second half when Milla Frye finished a scramble to tie the game at 1-1. Drexel regained the lead five minutes later on another Van Hellemont penalty-corner play, and Ryan Hickey added an insurance goal shortly after. Emily Singer’s late strike for the Hawks made it 3–2, but Drexel held on to secure Head Coach Denise Zelenak’s second CAA title.

Van Hellemont’s all-around performance earned her CAA Tournament MVP honors. Foster, Marti Sanabria, and Anna Castaldo were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Drexel finished with a slight edge in shots (12–11) and shots on goal (8–7), converting twice on six penalty corners. Goalkeeper Halle Geiger made five saves in the win. The Dragons will appear in their third NCAA Tournament.

Photo by Geoffrey Bolte

What a day it was for Princeton, who finally had revenge on Harvard as they captured the 2025 Ivy League Field Hockey Tournament this weekend. The Tigers won the title with a thrilling 2-1 victory over host Harvard on Sunday, downing the only unbeaten team in Division I.

The championship remained tied 1-1 deep into the third quarter until Beth Yeager, who had a penalty stroke saved moments earlier, redeemed herself by converting a penalty corner just two minutes later for what proved to be the game-winning goal. Yeager’s performance earned her tournament Most Outstanding Player honors, and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Ella Cashman, Pru Lindsey, and Ottilie Sykes.

Princeton struck first in the second quarter when Yeager drew a penalty stroke that Lindsey converted, before Harvard equalized shortly after with a goal from Lara Beekhuis. The Tigers held their 2-1 advantage through late possession and a Harvard power play, surviving the Crimson’s furious final push in the last 56 seconds.

Miami Athletics

Despite a valiant effort from conference newcomer Massachusetts, the MAC championship trophy will — for the eighth year in a row — reside in Oxford, Ohio. Miami (OH) extended its iron grip on the conference’s postseason tournament with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win over the Minutewomen in Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the tournament title game.

It felt inevitable that a clash between the RedHawks and UMass would decide the conference after both went 8-1 in the MAC in the regular season and the prior matchup had seen late drama result in a 3-1 UMass win. The Minutewomen rolled past third-seeded App State, 4-1, while Miami scored a pair of goals less than three minutes apart in the third quarter to sink No. 4 and host James Madison.

The ensuing championship took a remarkable 75 minutes to decide and was as evenly matched as they come. Miami’s Malena Sabez converted a penalty stroke in the 35th minute and that looked like it might be enough until UMass’ Lina Kroeger — with the Minutewomen’s goalie pulled — tied it up just over four minutes from the end of regulation. In double overtime, it was finally Lucia Ventos who took it herself and tucked away the gamewinner through the goalie’s legs to spark celebrations. 

Ventos joined Sabez, Berta Mata, and goalkeeper Nicky Sjouken on the MAC All-Tournament Team. Mata, who’s also been the MAC Defensive Player of the Year in consecutive years, has earned that recognition in consecutive tournaments.

Photo by Noah Barraclough

The first new Division I field hockey conference in 27 years, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation had its inaugural championship game between its two members, Delaware and UC Davis. The visiting Blue Hens, who made the trek across the country for the two teams’ first-ever meeting, erased a 1-0 second quarter deficit and went on to win, 2-1.

After the Aggies’ Katie Kim put them up, 1-0, in the 18th minute, Delaware had a quick answer. Sarah Rigual set up teammate Rachael Whitehead in the 21st minute to send it to the break tied. Just under four minutes after the break, Noelle Sabbagh came up with the eventual gamewinner for the Blue Hens. It was a successful end to the season for first-year head coach Tara Zollinger, who made the jump up from D-II Shippensburg this offseason and oversaw a 7-11 campaign that finished with the program’s 13th conference championship in the last 15 years.

Fairfield Athletics

For the first time since 2010-12, the NEC has a back-to-back conference tournament champion in Fairfield. The Stags, under first-year head coach Laura Gebhart, picked up right where they left off last season under Jackie Kane as they went 9-0 in conference play during the regular season before back-to-back wins on their home turf.

The Stags leaned on a brace from Catherine Fitzgerald and stifling defense in the semifinals, beating fourth-seeded Rider, 2-0. Fairfield didn’t allow a shot to the Broncs in the win and carried that defensive excellence over to the finale. Three different Stags found the back of the cage in a 3-0 shutout of Wagner in which they outshot their third-seeded visitors, 21-7.

Noor Hellemans, who had an assist in the championship game, anchored the defense over the 120 scoreless minutes and picked up NEC Tournament MVP honors. Teammates Catalina Ness, Pilar Mengotti, and Fitzgerald joined her on the NEC All-Tournament Team.

BU Athletics

Behind a historic hat trick from senior Caroline O’Brien, Boston University captured its fifth Patriot League title and 13th overall conference championship with a 3–2 win over Lafayette on Saturday, the program’s first since 2018.

O’Brien was unstoppable, scoring all three goals to earn Tournament MVP honors and become the first player in Patriot League history to record a hat trick in a championship game. Her final strike in the 57th minute sealed the title after Lafayette twice rallied to tie the contest in the second half.

The Terriers struck first at 17:43 when O’Brien converted a penalty corner from senior Megan Wetzel. Lafayette equalized midway through the third quarter, but O’Brien quickly answered early in the fourth to reclaim the lead. The Leopards leveled again with under five minutes left, setting up a dramatic finish. On BU’s final corner, freshman Delfi Coulo corralled a rebound and slipped the ball to O’Brien, who buried a reverse-stick shot for the game-winner.

Junior goalkeeper Sophie Ortyl made two key saves as BU held a 12–9 edge in shots and limited Lafayette to four on goal despite facing seven corners.

O’Brien was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Wetzel, Martu Coulo, and Delfi Coulo, as head coach Sally Starr guided the Terriers to their fifth Patriot League crown. With the victory, BU became just the third No. 4 seed in league history to win the tournament.

Images courtesy of Alex Weiss/UNH Athletics, UNC Athletics, Keith Lucas/Atlantic 10, Liberty Athletics, Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics, Drexel Athletics, Geoffrey Bolte/Princeton Athletics, Miami Athletics, Noah Barraclough/Delaware Athletics, Fairfield Athletics, BU Athletics