Wellesley Field Hockey To Face UNE In NCAA Tournament Opener
2015 NCAA Field Hockey Championship Interactive Bracket
WELLESLEY, Mass. – No. 8 Wellesley College field hockey will play the University of the New England in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship at 2:00 PM on Saturday, November 14, at Bowdoin College's Howard Ryan Field in Brunswick, Maine.
The Nor'Easters (17-6 overall) advanced following a 3-1 victory over Becker College in NCAA First Round action on Wednesday evening in Biddeford, Maine. Junior Nicole Matarozzo (Wolfeboro, N.H.) scored the game-winner for UNE, while sophomore forward Becky Zakorchemny (Gilford, N.H.) added a pair of goals. Matarozzo leads the Nor'Easters with 17 goals and eight assists in 23 games this season. Sophomore Vonde Saunders (Conway, N.H.) is second on the team in scoring with 14 goals and 34 points. In goal, junior Holly Smith (Peabody, Mass.) sports a 1.21 goals against average and has started all 23 games this season.
Wellesley (16-3 overall) is making a trip to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive season and the sixth time in program history. The Blue are 6-6 all-time in five previous NCAA tournament appearances, with the program's best result coming in 1995 when the Blue advanced to the Final Four. Wellesley is 2-2 in NCAA Tournament action under Head Coach Julia King, including back-to-back trips to the quarterfinals. Last year, Wellesley defeated Juniata College, 3-0 in the second round, before dropping a 1-0 final to Salisbury University.
Saturday's match-up will be the first NCAA tournament meeting between Wellesley and UNE. The winner will advance to the regional final versus host Bowdoin or Keene State University. The Blue are 0-1 all-time in NCAA tournament action versus the Polar Bears and 1-0 in NCAA tournament play versus the Owls. Both matchups came in 2006, as Wellesley defeated Keene St. in the First Round, 6-0, before dropping a 5-2 decision at Bowdoin in the next round.
The winner of this weekend's regional will advance to the NCAA Division III national semifinals on Saturday, November 21, at Turf Field on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
Tickets:
Tickets will be $5 for adults and $3 for students/seniors on each day of the tournament.
Live Stats/Video:
All games will have live stats and will be webcast by the Northeast Sports Network. Links are available below.
Schedule:
Saturday, Nov. 14
11:00 AM - Bowdoin v. Keene State Live Stats | Video
2:00 PM - Wellesley v. UNE Live Stats | Video
Sunday, Nov. 15
1:00 PM - Regional Final Live Stats | Video