HENNIKER, N.H. - After emerging victorious from their quarterfinal round matchup against Lasell, the New England College field hockey team will head to top-seeded Dean on Wednesday for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals. The game is set to be played at 2:00 PM on Grant Field in Franklin, Massachusetts.
The Pilgrims picked up their 11th win of the season on Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Lasers to reach the GNAC semifinals for the third straight season. Senior Cristina Manzi (Peapack, N.J.) came up huge for the 'Grims as she scored twice while senior Martina Hill (Abbot, Maine) added the third to secure the win. The victory was the team's 10th shutout of the season and the fifth of the year for senior Makenzie Anderson (Antrim, N.H.), due in part to junior Conley Ladabouche (Barre, Vt.) who made a key defensive save early in the game.
The Dean Bulldogs were a bit of a surprise to be sitting at the top of the GNAC standings after entering the season 7th in the preseason poll, but the Bulldogs went 13-7 in the regular season with a 9-1 record in conference play. Dean defeated #8 Rivier on Saturday, 6-3, and have won their last 10 games against conference opponents and are winners of eight of their last nine games overall.
Dean conceded the first goal of the game on Saturday to the Raiders, but the Bulldogs responded with five goals over the second and third quarters to seize control of the game. Dean's offense was led by Sydnee Ramos and Emily Yazzetti who both rank inside the top 5 in the GNAC in goals scored this season. The duo each scored two goals in their quarterfinal win over Rivier and are likely to draw much of the attention of the NEC defense.
In their regular season matchup, a 2-1 Dean victory, both Ramos and Yazzetti were actually held scoreless, but Dean got goals from Emma Gragden and the overtime winner from Katrina Lee. For NEC, junior Kacey McClay (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) scored the team's lone goal that sent the game to overtime. Wednesday's matchup will pit the GNAC's top two goalkeepers by save percentage against one another, as Anderson (.879) will stand opposite Sara Gardner (.813). Gardner gave up two goals in 45 minutes of action in their first-round game against Rivier. When the two teams met in October, Gardner played 41 minutes with three saves and one goal allowed. Meanwhile, Anderson made 11 saves in 71 minutes but was straddled with the loss.
This time, the Pilgrims will look to write a different ending to their game against the Bulldogs. The winner will advance to the GNAC finals to face the winner of the other semifinal matchup, #3 Colby-Sawyer versus #2 St. Joseph's (ME), on Saturday, November 8th.
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