Box Score
Photo Gallery
Post-Game Interview

HOLDERNESS, N.H. -- The University of New England scored two early goals and held on through the second half to defeat Plymouth State University, 2-1, for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III New England Field Hockey Championship on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 17) at The Holderness School's Low Field.

It is the second ECAC title in program history, after the Nor'easters topped the Panthers in the 2009 final.

UNE first-year goalie Holly Smith made eight saves for the tournament's second seed, earning the Most Outstanding Player distinction.

In spite of playing nearly two full overtime periods in Saturday's semifinal, Big Blue (17-6) came out strong and received goals from juniors Erin Bibber (17th minute) and Kayla Lambert (21st minute) to jump in front. Bibber followed-up the rebound off her own shot; Lambert converted the rebound off an initial shot by senior Casey Clark.

Plymouth State (14-7) got one back in the 31st minute courtesy of Lauren Carroll, putting in the rebound off a save, but the Nor'easters maintained the lead at the break. UNE out-shot the top-seeded hosts and defending ECAC champions by a 12-7 margin in the opening frame, and had twice as many penalty corners (6-3).

Scoring chances were limited both ways in the second half, but the Panthers managed to test Smith on a handful of occasions. The rookie netminder made a trio of crucial saves down the stretch to help the Nor'easters secure the decision.

The PSU attack, which had averaged 4.5 goals and 22 shots per game during the season, was limited to just the one goal and 12 total shots against the Big Blue defense, even through a two-minute stretch in the final period when UNE was down two players.



Click HERE to watch the post-game interview with Hayley LaPointe, Casey Clark, Hannah Tavella, Brittany Liptak, Holly Smith, Brooke Marshall, and head coach Danielle Collins

Click HERE to view the Photo Gallery