The St. Thomas Aquinas College Women's Field Hockey team takes the #7 seed into Friday's Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Semifinal, traveling to face #3 Southern New Hampshire University at 6:00 pm.

 

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How They Got Here - The Spartans punched their ticket to the semifinal round via a thrilling 2-1 double overtime triumph over #2 seeded Adelphi University on Tuesday evening in Garden City, NY. The game-winning goal would come with just under two minutes remaining in the second extra session, as off of a Lotte Strijbos penalty corner, Briannah Thorne would fire a backhand shot past Adelphi keeper Stephanie Peragallo for her 13th of the season, giving St. Thomas Aquinas the sudden-death victory.

 

The Match-Up - St. Thomas Aquinas faced Southern New Hampshire one time during the 2019 regular season, falling to the Penmen 2-1 in overtime on October 12th. The match-up, held in Manchester, NH, saw the Spartans strike first on a Lisa Larsson first quarter tally. However, Southern New Hampshire would even things up at one goal apiece on an Emily Campbell goal three minutes later. The teams would remain off of the scoreboard until 4:13 into OT, when Laura van der Doorn would capitalize on a pass from teammate Helene Servais to give the Penmen the victory.

 

Players to Watch - The Spartans are led by Briannah Thorne with 27 points (13 goals & 1 assist), Lisa Larsson with 18 points (7 goals & 4 assists) and Lotte Strijbos with 15 points (6 goals & 3 assists). In the cage, Suzanne Clarke has played in all 19 contests, going 9-9 with a 2.23 goals against average and a .763 save percentage, posting 1 shutout. Teammate Jessie Hohenstein sports a 1-0 record with a 2.86 goals against average and a .692 save percentage in 8 games played.

 

On the other side, the Penmen were led by Helene Servais, with 37 points (13 goals & 11 assists), Laura van der Doorn with 33 points (14 goals & 5 assists), Lisa Hagel with 29 points (13 goals & 3 assists) and Emily Campbell with 27 points (9 goals & 9 assists). In net, Melanie Rennie should get the start for SNHU. Rennie has played in all 19 contests for her team, going 16-3 with a 0.86 goals against average and a .769 save percentage. She has also recorded 4 shutouts during the 2019 campaign. Teammate Kate Pigsley sports a 0-0 record with a 0.95 goals against average and a .714 save percentage in 5 games.

 

All-Conference Honors - On Wednesday afternoon, the Northeast-10 Conference released its 2019 Field Hockey All-Conference awards. Spartans Briannah Thorne and Lisa Larsson were recognized with Second Team and All-Rookie Team selections respectively, while Penmen Lisa van der Doorn (Player of the Year/First Team), Lisa Hagel (Rookie of the Year/First Team/All-Rookie Team), Helene Servais (First Team), Emily Campbell (Third Team) and Melanie Rennie (Third Team) were all recognized by the NE-10 for their individual seasons.

 

What's Next? - The winner of this semifinal match-up will advance to play the winner of #1 Saint Anselm College vs. #5 Assumption College in the final round of the tournament on Sunday, November 10th at 1pm, with both the NE-10 crown and a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament on the line.

 

2019 NE10 Field Hockey Championship Schedule

Tuesday, Nov. 5     
First Round ­
Game 1: #8 Franklin Pierce 0 at #1 Saint Anselm 2 (Final)
Game 2: #7 St. Thomas Aquinas 2 at #2 Adelphi 1 (Final/2OT)
Game 3: #6 Bentley 1 at #3 Southern New Hampshire 2 (Final/2OT)
Game 4 #5 Assumption 1 at #4 Stonehill 0 (Final)

Friday, November 8   
Semifinals - at higher seeds
Game 5:  #5 Assumption at #1 Saint Anselm - 4PM
Game 6:  #7 St. Thomas Aquinas at #3 Southern New Hampshire - 6PM

Sunday, November 10
Championship ­ (to be held at highest remaining seed)
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - 1 PM