College Games to Watch: September 6 - 11
by Caitlin Rubsamen, USA Field Hockey’s College Content Intern
Each week, USA Field Hockey highlights upcoming college games to watch. This edition covers the week of September 6 - 11.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2024
DI: NO. 5 DUKE VS NO. 1 NORTHWESTERN | 12:00 PM ET | B1G+
The 2-0 Wildcats host this weekend after defeating Maine and UMass in their opening spread. Transfer Ashley Sessa tallied the first goal of the season and her first for Northwestern, while Olivia Bent-Cole notched three on the weekend.
Duke found their own success, shutting out William & Mary, 5-0, then defeating UMass Lowell 3-1. Their top scorer on the weekend was none other than Alaina McVeigh, with three goals and one assist.
It was two extremely close matches between Duke and Northwestern last season. In September, the Wildcats bested the Blue Devils 3-2, then did it again with a 2-1 scoreline in the NCAA Semifinal.
DII: NO. 7 MOUNT OLIVE VS NO. 3 SHIPPENSBURG | 1:00 PM ET | Trojan Sports Network
2021 NCAA Champion Shippensburg begins their season by traveling to Mount Olive for the first time, having defeated them 4-1 in both 2023 and 2022 at home. The Raiders return two-time All-American Agus Garibaldi to their offense, who tallied a goal and an assist in the win over the Trojans last September.
Now in just their sixth season, Mount Olive enters in the top-ten Division II rankings after notching a 15-2 record last fall. The Trojans’ started off their 2023 with a loss and ended with a loss – a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Lander in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) Championship. The season opening loss was at the hands of Shippensburg. This year, Mount Olive featured four athletes on the NFHCA Division II Watchlist – graduate student goalkeeper Alanna Barrett, senior forward Amber Dercksen, senior midfielder Annefleur Moerkerken, and senior midfielder Jule Schuurman.
DII: NO. 6 WEST CHESTER VS NO. 4 ASSUMPTION | 6:00 PM ET | PSAC Network
West Chester will be looking to start off the season strong and improve upon a 10-7 record from last season. The Golden Rams won the NCAA title as recently as 2019, and appeared in the championship match in 2021. The NFHCA Division II Watchlist includes four athletes – graduate student and First Team All-PSAC selection Paige Wolfe, senior midfielder Adriana Palumbo, junior defender Ella Shockley, and First Team All-PSAC selection Jasmine Miller, who finished last season with 37 points and ranked third in Division II for goals per game (1.06).
The Greyhounds just missed out on the NE10 Conference title last season, but are slated to finish on top in this year’s NE10 Coaches Preseason Poll. The team returns five of their six All-NE10 selections from 2023, including 2024 NFHCA Division II Watchlist selections Callie Beauparlant, Mia Salah, and May van Woundenberg.
West Chester has never lost to Assumption in their four meetings, most recently winning 6-1 last season. In 2021, the Rams shutout the Greyhounds 3-0 to advance to the National Championship match.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2024
DIII: NO. 15 SUNY CORTLAND VS HARTWICK | 11:00 AM ET | Empire 8 Network
SUNY Cortland found themselves ranked 15th in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division III Preseason Poll, a position they proved to be worthy of after winning both their games last weekend. The Red Dragons opened with a 3-1 win against Montclair State and then were first to score in sudden victory overtime against No. 18 Franklin & Marshall. SUNY Cortland returns key offensive weapons like Hannah Corrigan and Keirra Ettere, who were top scorers last season and have already begun their 2024 campaign with two goals each.
The Hartwick Hawks look to bounce back after two tough losses to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Rochester. They finished last season 12-6 (6-1 Empire 8) and with the Empire 8 conference trophy in hand. Hartwick welcomes back Danielle Hand and Ashley Tricarico, two of the team’s top goal scorers in 2023 who have both already tallied this season. The Hawks also return graduate student goalkeeper Ashley Luppes, who finished the 2023 season with a .800 save percentage.
In all time meetings, the Red Dragons are a perfect 14-0 against the Hawks. Last season, Hartwick fell by a score of 7-1.
DIII: NO. 7 CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT VS NO. 18 FRANKLIN & MARSHALL | 11:00 AM ET | CC Network
The Diplomats had a strong 2023 season, finishing 8-2 in conference play (11-8 overall) before losing in the Centennial Conference Semifinal to a tough Swarthmore team. It’s been a tough start to 2024, as the team opened with a 1-0 loss to Susquehanna followed by a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of No. 15 SUNY Cortland. Three different Diplomats tallied in the loss, including captain Jessica Miller.
Christopher Newport finished 17-1 last fall, picking up the Coast-to-Coast (C2C) Championship title after defeating Salisbury 2-0. The Captains’ perfect season came to end when they fell in overtime in the NCAA Second Round to Kean. The squad had five members named to the 2024 NFHCA Division III Watchlist: Katie Abendschoen, Brooke Billhimer, Caroline Hughlett, Courtney Hughlett, and Lily Kerr. Each of these players were key in the opening 4-0 victory against Denison, with Caroline Hughlett scoring the winning goal off an assist from her twin sister Courtney.
The last time these two teams met was last September, where Christopher Newport secured the 2-1 victory with a game-winning goal late in the fourth quarter. Franklin & Marshall was victorious in the only other meeting in 2022. Expect this game to be highly competitive but low scoring, as both of these teams boost strong defensive lines.
DIII: NO. 6 TUFTS VS NO. 8 WILLIAMS | 1:00 PM ET | NSN Sports
The No. 6 Jumbos finished last season 13-6, losing in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament to Babson. They went an impressive 8-2 in conference play, losing only to Middlebury and Wesleyan – the latter in overtime. Tufts returns Hannah Biccard, Claire Gavin, and Kylie Rosenquest, who combined for 51 points last season. Meanwhile, Lydia Eastburn returns to the cage for her junior season after recording a .739 save percentage in 2023. New talent has helped the Jumbos already, as first-year Eleanor Luft notched the game-winning goal in their season opener against Wellesley.
The No. 8 Ephs finished with a 6-4 conference record last season, but made it all the way to the NESCAC championship game where they fell 3-0 to Middlebury College. Williams then earned an at-large bid to the NCAA postseason but exited in the Second Round with a 1-0 overtime loss to Salisbury. They are a consistently strong team, finishing with a .600 record or higher for the past six seasons.
Williams brings back leading goal scorer Kiki Higgins and defender Pilar Torres, who was third for points (21) and goals (8) last season. In their opening win against Union, Torres tallied a goal while sophomore Haley McAuslin netted two.
These two teams met in October last season, when the Jumbos took a 2-1 victory in overtime. Tufts has won all 19 of these match-ups, but this year the Ephs look to change the narrative.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2024
DI: NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA vs NO. 15 PRINCETON | 11:00 AM ET | ESPN
After a strong opening performance by the Tar Heels last week – defeating Michigan, 4-1, and Iowa, 2-1 – Erin Matson’s squad has shown that they are not taking their foot off the gas this season. After just two games, Charly Bruder, Sanne Hak, Sietske Brüning, and Ryleigh Heck have combined for 12 points. Senior goalkeeper Abigail Taylor started both games in net for the Tar Heels, making three critical saves.
Princeton opens their season this weekend with a match against Louisville on Friday before challenging the Tar Heels on Sunday. The Tigers ended their 2023 season 8-9 (5-2 Ivy) after losing to Harvard in the Ivy League Championship game. Returners include defender Ottilie Sykes, who played a key role on offense last season by leading the team in goals (4) and points (11). Princeton will also welcome back Beth Yeager, who took an Olympic Waiver last year to train for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Yeager is a two-time All-American and Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and is a huge asset to this Princeton squad. Sykes and Yeager have yet to play together, so keep an eye on how the two work off of one another.
Last time these two teams clashed, Princeton put on an impressive performance, nearly upsetting the Tar Heels in this same Conference Crossover event. Princeton's Robyn Thompson had a career high of 10 saves in the match, which was won in overtime off a penalty stroke from North Carolina’s Lisa Slinkert.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2024
DII: NO. 10 MILLERSVILLE VS IUP | 6:00 PM ET | PSAC Network
Last season, the pair played a hotly contested match that was decided in overtime. After tying the game in the fourth quarter, IUP's Jess Davidson also tallied the golden goal. It was a big win for the Crimson Hawks, who finished 4-5 in the conference and earned a spot in the PSAC tournament. The Mauraders just missed out, finishing 3-6 in conference play.
Davidson returns this season for IUP after leading her team in goals (11) in 2023. Millersville returns two that were key to the defensive line last season - Caroline Griffin and goalkeeper Kerstin Koons.
In overall meetings, the two teams are tied 17-17.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024
DIII: NO. 4 SALISBURY vs NO. 2 JOHNS HOPKINS | 6:00 PM ET | SGSN
Both teams have started off their season strong with three consecutive wins. Johns Hopkins took down No. 20 Shenandoah, Washington & Lee, and most recently, No. 5 Messiah. The 3-1 victory over the Falcons included a pair of goals and an assist from graduate student Lila Slattery. The Blue Jays will face another ranked opponent this Saturday when they host No. 10 Rowan.
It was wins against No. 21 Swarthmore, Stockton, and Washington for Salisbury this past week. The Sea Gulls put up big margins in each victory, now sitting at 19-2 for total goals so far. Sophomore Arden Hunteman tallied five goals while both Marli MCDorman and Regan Nacrelli have notched three assists each.
These two teams were almost perfectly matched last fall. In the regular season, a 1-1 tie through two overtimes was won by Johns Hopkins in shootouts. The Blue Jays then ended the Sea Gulls’ season in the NCAA Quarterfinals, taking a 1-0 victory. In their long history together that began in 1988, Salisbury leads with 29 wins to Johns Hopkins’ nine.
ALL WEEKEND LONG
DI: ACC/B1G Challenge
Northwestern will host the second weekend of the ACC/B1G Challenge in Evanston, Ill. The weekend will feature No. 1 Northwestern and No. 4 Maryland from the Big Ten (B1G), and No. 5 Duke and No. 17 Boston College from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Last weekend, No. 12 Michigan, No. 6 Iowa, No. 2 North Carolina, and No. 18 Wake Forest gathered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Tar Heels were the only team to come out with two wins – 4-1 over Michigan and 2-1 over Iowa. Fans can catch all the action on B1G+.
Friday, September 6
NO. 5 DUKE vs NO. 1 NORTHWESTERN | 12:00 PM ET | B1G+ (See above for preview)
NO. 18 BOSTON COLLEGE VS NO. 4 MARYLAND | 3:00 PM ET | B1G+
Sunday, September 8
NO. 5 DUKE VS NO. 4 MARYLAND | 12:00 PM ET | B1G+
NO. 17 BOSTON COLLEGE VS NO. 1 NORTHWESTERN | 4:00 PM ET | B1G+
DI: ACC/Ivy League Conference Crossover
Penn and Princeton will represent the Ivy League in a weekend crossover with ACC teams North Carolina and Louisville. The Cardinals will play host to the excitement at Trager Stadium in Louisville, Ky., and fans can tune in to watch on ESPN.
Friday, September 6
NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA VS PENN | 1:00 PM ET | ESPN
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE VS NO. 15 PRINCETON | 4:00 PM ET | ESPN
Sunday, September 8
NO. 2 NORTH CAROLINA VS NO. 15 PRINCETON | 10:30 AM ET | ESPN (See above for preview)
NO. 7 LOUISVILLE VS PENN | 1:30 PM ET | ESPN