College Games to Watch: October 31 - November 3

Each week, USA Field Hockey highlights upcoming college games to watch. This edition covers the weekend of October 31 - November 2.

Limestone and Lander will replay the 2023 South Atlantic Conference (SAC) championship game on Halloween night. 

These two teams are evenly matched this season, both holding records of 10-5 overall and are 9-3 in SAC play. Lander’s three conference losses were all 2-1 – to Coker, Newberry, and Wingate. The Bearcats recently avenged their loss to Newberry with a 1-0 victory in which Leira Van Tilburg tallied the lone goal.

Limestone also suffered a 2-1 loss to Newberry this season, in addition to falling to Wingate. The Saints’ third SAC loss was 2-1 to Converse. In their most recent victory, Limestone defeated Belmont Abbey, 2-1, with the SAC’s second leading scorer Zoe Bergmann tallying twice.

While Northwestern (17-0, 7-0 B1G) already secured their title as the Big Ten (B1G) regular season champions last week with an overtime win against Michigan and 5-0 shutout over Michigan State, the Wildcats also look to secure a perfect regular season record.

Sophomore Ashley Sessa leads the B1G in points (49) and assists (13), second in the nation only to North Carolina’s Bruder in points per game (2.88). Sessa and Olympic teammate Maddie Zimmer have been successful in producing offense together this season. Zimmer picked up her first B1G Offensive Player of the Week accolade after setting up the game-winning goal and assisting the tying goal in the OT win over Michigan. Annabel Skubisz has had a solid performance in the cage for the Wildcats, and enters this game with the best save percentage in Division I (.892).

Ohio State (13-3, 4-3 B1G) looks to claim the second or third seed for postseason play with a victory over Northwestern. After a tough 3-0 loss to Iowa last Sunday, the Buckeyes are looking to  finish off the regular season with two wins.Leading the scoring is MaKenna Webster, while defender Katie Fitchner and goalkeeper Abby Danson have been holding down the backline. Webster is third in the conference for both goals and points while Danson is second in the conference for save percentage (.800).

After a 5-2 win over SUNY Brockport last week, SUNY Geneseo (16-1, 9-0) secured the top seed in the Empire 8 (E8) tournament, then earned the regular season title with a 2-0 shutout over Houghton this Tuesday. The Knights will have one final non-conference test before hosting an E8 semifinal next Tuesday. Geneseo’s only loss was on September 14 to No. 2 Salisbury, and their impressive 16-1 record is the best winning percentage in Division III.

Over in the Liberty League, Rochester (15-3, 5-2 LL) has guaranteed their own semifinal slot, taking down RPI and Vassar last weekend. The emphatic 3-0 win over RPI marked the 19th career shutout for junior goalkeeperKara Houston, breaking the program record.

With a 5-0 shutout over William & Mary last Friday, Drexel (13-4, 5-0 CAA) is now 5-0 in conference for the first time since 2010. Valenine Van Hellemont, who leads the team in goals (11), tallied a hat trick, earning her third Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Offensive Player of the Week award. The Dragons have been slowly accumulating wins, breaking into the top 20 national rankings after earning their ninth straight victory two weeks ago. Most recently, Drexel defeated Wagner in double overtime to give head coach Denise Zelenak her 300th career win.

In a back-and-forth season, Delaware (8-8, 3-2 CAA) has found themselves with a few extremely close losses to top teams. A 2-1 double OT loss to No. 13 Princeton, 1-0 OT loss to No. 5 Saint Joseph’s, 2-1 OT loss to No. 10 UConn, and 5-4 loss to No. 17 Penn State shows how much the Blue Hens can step up their game. Last weekend Delaware picked up a 2-1 non-conference win over UPenn, with CAA Rookie of the Week Janne Stoetzer notching a goal and an assist.

Delaware has defeated Drexel in their past ten meetings, including the 2022 CAA Championship match.

As we enter the final week of regular season play, there are several games that fans will not want to miss, including this top ten matchup between rivals Duke and North Carolina.

Quietly making their way through ACC play has been Duke (11-4, 6-1 ACC), who jumped up four spots in the national rankings this week after a huge 1-0 victory over Boston College last Friday. The Blue Devil offense has scored 29 goals this season, while the defense leads the nation in goals against average (0.32). Only five balls have gotten past goalkeeper Frederique Wollaert, who has a .875 save percentage. Junior Alaina McVeigh continues to lead the team offensively, tallying her tenth goal in last weekend’s 1-0 victory over the Eagles. A win in this game would give Duke the No. 1 seed heading into the ACC tournament.

North Carolina (14-0, 7-0 ACC) has been a bit more emphatic in their wins, taking down both No. 3 Virginia and No. 9 Boston College by scores of 4-0 last weekend. Senior Kelly Smith earned her first ACC Defensive Player of the Week honor after a weekend that included a defensive save, an assist, and first career goal. The Tar Heels come into this contest with a perfect record and currently hold the No. 1 spot in the ACC. Charly Bruder continues to be an absolute force on attack, tallying a hat trick against the Cavaliers on Friday to bring her season total to 20 goals.

On the prowl for a share of American’s regular season title, Bucknell will host the Eagles at Graham Field this Saturday.

American (10-7, 5-0 Patriot) locked down their share of the title this past weekend with a 3-0 shutout against Lehigh. Emily Horace found the back of the net twice, while Bryn Underwood made an impressive penalty stroke save to pick up her sixth clean sheet of the season.

Bucknell (8-7, 4-1 Patriot) also found added success after defeating Lehigh, clinching their 17th consecutive Patriot League tournament bid after the win. The Bison notably took No. 17 Penn State to overtime back in September, with offensive leader Lily Neilson scoring the lone goal in the loss. Bucknell’s single conference defeat was to Lafayette, who will play Colgate this Saturday.

Last season, the Eagles took down the Bison, 3-2, in the Patriot League semifinal.

Rowan looks to keep a clean sheet in NJAC play with one final regular season match against Montclair State this Saturday.

Last Friday, unranked Rowan (11-7, 5-0 NJAC), who had lost six of their seven matches against ranked opponents, took down their highest ranked foe yet – No. 2 Salisbury. The 2-1 win came in overtime when Allie Palumbo converted on a penalty stroke to earn her 100th career point. Palumbo was named NJAC Offensive Player of the Week, while Tess Herman was honored as Defensive Player of the Week after her stellar performance against the Sea Gulls.

Montclair State (13-4, 4-1 NJAC) has found their own success this season, collecting four NJAC wins so far after going 2-3 in conference play last fall. Last week, the Red Hawks shut out No. 19 New Paltz, 1-0, and topped Kean, 2-1. Freshman Bella Heiser was selected as the NJAC Rookie of the Week for her goal in the victory over New Paltz.

As Assumption (14-3, 12-0 NE10) enters their final game of the season, they look to extend their perfect Northeast 10 (NE10) record. After strong performances in the past three victories, Callie Beauparlant was named the NFHCA Division II Defensive Player of the Week. Alongside Beauparlant, senior Mia Salah has consistently found herself on the stats sheet. Salah has been a key component to this Greyhounds offense and their continued success this year. 

Saint Anselm (13-4, 10-2 NE10) has had a very successful regular season as well, coming into this game 10-2 in NE10 play. Their two conference losses came at the hands of Adelphi, 3-2, and Southern New Hampshire in double overtime, 1-0. Maddie Davis and Amanda Lewandowski lead the team in points with 21 and 25, respectively. Saint Anselm is on a six-game win streak, and will be hoping to pick up another win against undefeated Assumption.

Last year, Saint Anselm came out on top, 2-1, in the NE10 Championship, but Assumption found their way to victory in the first round of the NCAA DII Tournament, 2-1.

A top 25 matchup finishes out regular season play for Ithaca and Ursinus, two teams who have secured sports in postseason play.

Ithaca comes into this game 12-5 overall after a huge 5-0 win over SUNY Oswego on Wednesday. The Bombers are 6-1 in the Liberty League, only losing to William Smith, 2-1, in their second conference game of the season. Ithaca earned the regular season title and  is the No. 1 seed for the Liberty League playoffs set to start next week. A trio of seniors have led the scoring this year, with five goals each on the season – Natalie Descalso, Meara Bury, and Juliana Valli. Meanwhile, sophomore Maeve Clark has been a solid performer in goal this year for the Bombers.

Ursinus (12-4, 8-2 CC) travels to Ithaca, N.Y. coming off of a huge 2-1 upset over No. 12 Bryn Mawr, putting them the No. 2 seed in the Centennial Conference. Mary Lauren Franz and Marie Brainard, who scored the two goals against the Owls, have combined for 25 goals this year.

There’s been quite a few shakeups in the Centennial Conference this fall, but none quite as big as Swarthmore’s 1-0 victory over No. 5 Johns Hopkins last Saturday. The Garnet (11-7, 7-2 CC) snapped the Blue Jays’ 47-game Centennial Conference regular season win streak – the longest in conference history. Junior defender Sarah Cooper scored on a penalty stroke in overtime to propel Swarthmore to victory, while Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Wek Cassandra Conklin made two saves in goal. With a chance at clinching the top-seed, the Garnet could not get the job done this Wednesday, falling 4-3 to Washington College.

Haverford (9-7, 5-4 CC) dug deep to keep their playoff dreams alive this Wednesday with a shootout victory over Muhlenberg. After going down 1-0, sophomore Erica Pardón found the equalizer in the third quarter. For the shootout, the Fords opted to use first-year goalkeeper Steph Ionescu, who made two crucial saves in her collegiate debut.

To finish out the regular season, Swarthmore and Haverford will continue their historic rivalry. In their matches over the past four decades, Swarthmore leads with 29 wins to Haverford’s 23. Last season was a 3-2 win for the Garnet, while 2022 saw Haverford take a 1-0 victory.

App State and JMU will play for postseason seeding this weekend, having already clinched their spots in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) tournament two weeks ago.

After having to sit out conference play the past two years, JMU (11-4, 6-0 MAC) has settled nicely to the MAC. The Dukes are currently undefeated in the MAC, winning their previous two by big margins – a 4-0 win over Ball State and 6-0 shutout over Bellarmine.

App State’s (9-7, 6-1 MAC) single conference loss was a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Miami-Ohio several weeks ago. The Mountaineers most recently took on No. 22 Old Dominion in a non-conference match-up, falling 2-1 despite a heroic effort from goalkeeper Claire Grenis, who tallied ten saves. JMU suffered a similar defeat to the Monarchs earlier this season – a 3-2 overtime loss that saw a total of 11 saves from goalkeeper duo Molly Schreiner and Katie Fricke.