GAFFNEY, S.C. – With the swipe of her stick near the left post, fifth-year Maddie Davis (Exeter, N.H.) found the back of the net in overtime to lift the nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team to the institution's first NCAA Division II National Championship on Sunday.
Score: No. 7 seed Saint Anselm 1, No. 4 seed Kutztown 0 (OT)
Final Records: Saint Anselm (18-6); No. 4 Kutztown (16-6)
Location: Gaffney, S.C. (Saints Field – Limestone University)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024
QUICK FACTS:
- Ranked No. 8 in the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association National Poll, Saint Anselm has won its first NCAA Division II National Championship, in any sport, with Sunday's result.
- The Hawks entered NCAA postseason play as the seventh seed and defeated three consecutive opponents with the higher seed (second-seed Assumption, third-seed East Stroudsburg, fourth-seed Kutztown) en route to the championship.
- Davis joined junior Millie Forster (Cholmondeley, Cheshire, England), senior Grace Michael (Hampton Falls, N.H.), and classmate Sidney Falterer (Fairfield, Conn.) on the National Championship's All-Tournament Team.
- By scoring the overtime winner, Davis set the team's program records for career goals (38) and points (102), surpassing All-America selection Hannah Friend '20.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Held without a shot through 60 regulation minutes, the Hawks fired four in the first overtime period and made their last attempt of the game count.
- Off a penalty corner injected by Davis, the ball was settled at the top of the circle by Forster and sent leftward to Michael, who sent a powerful blast toward the left side of the net.
- Making her way from the injection point to the left post, Davis was there to redirect the shot past Kutztown netminder Mia Kepler for the game-winning goal.
- Falterer made a clutch save just 3:34 into the game as a bouncing ball entered the top of the circle. Sliding forward to cut down the angle on the fast-charging Kutztown attacker, Falterer guided the ball wide of the net.
- Later in the first half, Falterer kept Saint Anselm in the game, denying three consecutive shots on net that came within a span of 2:05 in the second quarter. Two of those stops came with Falterer sprawled out on the ground.
- The last save in that span came on a nifty backhand by a Kutztown forward near the left post, but Falterer denied the attempt with under two minutes left in the stanza.
- With about seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, following a Falterer save, it appeared that Kutztown had scored the go-ahead goal off a rebound, but the play had been stopped due to an offensive foul by the Golden Bears.
- In overtime, the Saint Anselm defense stood tall just before the game-winning goal by the Hawks. Off a penalty corner, sophomore Laurentien van den Akker (Geldrop, The Netherlands) and junior Maggie Burchill (Braintree, Mass.) crashed toward the oncoming Kutztown player and ushered the shot wide of the net.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Kutztown, the reigning NCAA Division II Champions, held the edge in shots (six-to-four) as well as shots on goal (five-to-three), but were out-chanced by a four-to-one margin in overtime.
- Falterer recorded her seventh shutout on the season, making five saves on five shots. Kepler made two saves on three attempts by Saint Anselm.
- The Hawks earned six of the game's 11 penalty corners.
- Sunday's game was the first to reach overtime in the National Championship since 2018.
- Under Head Coach Carolyn King-Robitaille, the Hawks have posted a 169-76 (.690) record in 13 seasons. Prior to her arrival on the Hilltop, the Hawks were a combined 49-139 (.261) since the team's modern-day inception in 2001.
- Following a 1-0 loss to nationally-ranked Southern New Hampshire on Wednesday, Oct. 9 that dropped the team's record to 7-4, the Hawks finished the season by winning 11 of their last 13 games.
- Since 2018, Saint Anselm sports teams have now made the championship game or games of the NCAA Division II postseason three times, including softball (2018) and field hockey (2019, 2024).
- Saint Anselm is the first Northeast-10 Conference program to win the National Championship in the sport of field hockey, snapping a 12-game winning streak by Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference institutions.