Recap Courtesy Saint Anselm Athletics
- This was the first overtime NE10 final since 1996
- Bentley or Saint Anselm has been involved in four of the five overtime NE10 Championship finals
- This is Saint Anselm's third NE10 crown
- The game marked Bentley's first appearance in the title game since 2009
- Either Saint Anselm or Assumption has played in six of the last seven NE10 Championship finals. Bentley is the eighth team to also play for a title over that stretch
- With her two goals, Maggie Burchill now has three on the year and all in the last three games
- Saint Anselm never held a lead in either the semifinals or finals en route to a title
- Saint Anselm's OT wins in the semis and finals were the first OT games in the NE10 Championship since 2022, when Saint Anselm and Bentley wach played a 2OT game
- Burchill was named Most Outstanding Player of the championship, giving the Burchill family four All-NE10 Championship spots as a family. Diedre was twice named to the team while at Assumption. Maggie was a member of the squad after scoring a stroke in the 2023 final.
- This was the 12th 2OT game played in DII this season. Saint Anselm is the only team in the country to play three 2OT games this year -- two came against Bently.
- With 916 fans officially reported in attendance, the NE10 Championship finals had the highest attendance of any DII game this season (that was reported to the NCAA). It was the seventh best attendance for a field hockey game at any level in the NCAA thus far this fall.
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior
Maggie Burchill fired in the game-winning goal with 1:43 to play in the second overtime to secure the third Northeast 10 Conference Championship for the Saint Anselm College field hockey team, as the Hawks defeated Bentley 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
Burchill was named the Most Outstanding Player of the postseason, as she posted the game-tying and game-winning goals to clinch the title for the Hawks. Joining her on the All-Championship Team were junior
Laurentien van den Akker and senior
Millie Forster.
Saint Anselm has now won 13 consecutive games against Bentley dating back to Oct. 7, 2015.
Highlights
- Burchill scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals, coming late in the third quarter and deep into double overtime, as classmate Marissa Politano scored the Hawks' first goal in the opening quarter.
- Junior Laurentien van den Akker and freshman Audrey Payeur each registered assists in the win.
- Junior goalie Mackenzie Wehrum made three saves in her 14th victory of the season.
- Saint Anselm outshot Bentley, 13-6, and also owned a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Falcons defenders compiled four defensive saves while Annie Lorenz made three stops in net.
- Saint Anselm held a 16-7 advantage in penalty corners.
How it Happened
Bentley took an early lead on a goal by McKenzie Carey just 6:37 into the first quarter. The Hawks responded less than two minutes later as senior
Marissa Politano tipped in a shot from the top of the circle from van den Akker to even the score.
The Falcons held a 2-1 lead at halftime as Gracie Moore scored 5:05 into the second frame to put the visitors on top at the break.
Saint Anselm put the pressure on in the third quarter, earning nine corners and firing seven shots. Bentley's Avery Frommer made four total defensive saves in the period before Burchill finally broke through on an unassisted goal with 1:40 left in the third to tie the game up at 2-2.
Neither team was able to register a shot in the fourth quarter, despite a penalty corner being awarded each way, sending the game to sudden-death overtime.
Junior
Mackenzie Wehrum denied a shot 3:20 into the extra time on a Bentley corner. Saint Anselm was rejected on both of its corner tries, with both shots on net being saved by Annie Lorenz, sending the game to double overtime.
Despite a pair of corner chances in the opening 2:15 of the sixth period, Bentley was only able to get one shot off that was saved by Wehrum. Saint Anselm was awarded its first of two corners with just under two minutes remaining before penalty strokes. On the Hawks' second corner, freshman
Audrey Payeur recovered a loose ball and slid it to Burchill whose shot went through the legs of Lorenz and in for the game-winning tally, clinching Saint Anselm's eighth all-time NCAA Championship appearance.
All-Championship Team
Maggie Burchill, Saint Anselm (Most Outstanding Player)
Laurentien van den Akker, Saint Anselm
Millie Forster, Saint Anselm
Gracie Moore, Benltey
Sheila Mullins, Bentley
Elle Murray, Assumption
Kattie Dettore, Adelphi
Elite 24 Award
Colleen Stankiewicz, Saint Anslem
Sophomore
Nursing
3.959
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 10 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
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