WALTHAM, Mass. – The Northeast 10 Field Hockey Championship gets underway on Tuesday night with the quarterfinals and Bentley hosts Southern New Hampshire at 6:00 pm in the #4-#5 seed matchup.
The Falcons clinched a home playoff game on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Pace in the regular season finale.
Madeline Krepelka scored her eighth goal of the season and
Mia Gallinelli and
Emily Stagnone both scored their first NCAA goals.
The win gave Bentley an 11-7 overall record at the end of the regular season and an 8-3 NE10 record for the #4 seed.
Southern New Hampshire finished at 12-6 overall and 8-4 in the NE10. They've dropped two straight entering the postseason, 2-0 to Saint Anselm on Oct. 28 and 3-2 in double overtime to St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday.
Bentley won the regular season meeting between these teams 3-2 in overtime on Sept. 30 at home.
Gracie Moore scored the winner 1:31 into overtime after a back-and-forth regulation.
SNHU took the early lead in the 1
st quarter but Bentley jumped in front with goals by
Lindsey Jacobs late in the third quarter and
Nina Husak early in the fourth quarter. SNHU tied the game 2-2 with just over seven minutes left in regulation.
The winner of Tuesday's game will face the winner of #1 Assumption against #8 Franklin Pierce in the semifinals on Friday.
The other two quarterfinals on Tuesday are #2 Adelphi vs. #7 Southern Connecticut and #3 Saint Anselm vs. #6 Pace.
The championship game is on Sunday, November 9 at the highest remaining seed.
The Falcons and Penmen have played just one other time in the postseason, in the 2019 quarterfinals.
