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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Hannah Buckley knocked a rebound out of mid-air with just over 10 minutes gone in overtime to give top-seeded University of New England to a 1-0 victory over third-seeded Endicott College in the title match of the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Field Hockey Championship on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 7) at the Big Blue Turf.

With the result, the Nor'easters (16-6) secure the automatic from the CCC into the NCAA Division III Championship, which will begin on Wednesday. The bracket will be released on NCAA.com on Sunday evening.

UNE's second straight league crown and third in program history came in its fifth appearance in the final. Last season, Big Blue edged the Gulls in double overtime (4-3) and went on to win an NCAA game and reach the second round of the national tournament.

The deciding play started with Brooke Marshall reaching out to stop an Endicott move out of the defensive zone, and then eventually finding Nicole Matarozzo (CCC 1st Team) down the left side. Matarozzo stepped into the circle unopposed and fired a shot that Endicott goalie Cheka Ventura calmly blocked but couldn't clear the rebound. Marshall collected the loose ball and flipped one into the chest of Ventura, and as it bounced off the turf, Buckley raced in to touch her third marker of the year into the upper portion of the cage before toppling over Ventura in the crease.
 
For Buckley, it was her second game-winning goal in as many outings, following the opening score of Wednesday's 2-0 semifinal triumph.

Both keepers were busy down the stretch and during the extra session as fatigue set in and play opened up. UNE netminder Holly Smith (CCC 1st Team) stopped all three of Endicott's shots in the period to finished with eight saves and preserve her fifth shutout.

Ventura turned aside four in OT to end with 10 saves for the Gulls (11-10), who were out-shot 17-12 in the game, while penalty corners were six apiece.

"I knew it was going to be a one-goal game," commented UNE head coach Danielle Collins following the match. "It's Endicott -- every time we play them, it's always a close game. It was a very well-fought game down to the last minute, and I'm proud of how our ladies battled right to the finish."

It was UNE's sixth overtime match of the season and the second against EC, with which the all-time series now stands level at 11-all as the Nor'easters have taken 8-of-9 recently.

"This was our goal from the beginning," Collins added. "It'll be fun to continue into next week."


Click on the following link to view WMTW and the Portland Press Herald's coverage of the victory:  WMTW   Portland Press Herald