Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Makena Valentine matched the University of New England postseason single-game points record with seven to lead the No.3 seed Nor'easters in a 6-0 victory over sixth seed Nichols College in the opening round of the 2025 Conference of New England (CNE) Field Hockey Championship at Blue Bolt Field on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 1).

With the win, UNE (12-8) advanced into Wednesday's semifinal at No.2 Roger Williams University. [Championship Central]

Valentine scored twice and had three assists for the second time in two weeks to reach her point total. The last time a UNE player posted seven was 2019, and, during conference tournament action, the only other instance with in 2016. The three helpers established a new UNE mark for CNE/CCC postseason play, while joining 11 other performances with a share of the overall school record.

The Nor'easters struck four times during the initial 20 minutes, with tallies from Riley Zielinski [Watch], Abby Stevens [Watch], Valentine [Watch], and Micaela Jacobs [Watch]. Isabel Culver and Shelly Tremblay registered assists on the second and third scores, respectively.

Valentine put a pass through traffic onto the stick of Ava Wolverton for a goal in the 41st minute [Watch], before Valentine capped the scoring just over two minutes later [Watch]. Valentine now leads the team with 11 goals and nine assists.

Greta Jennison only needed to make one 4th-quarter save to log the eighth Nor'easter shutout in league championship action.

Jessa Altemose had one stop and Merle Steinau added a defensive save for the Bison, who conclude the year with a mark of 6-14.

The regular season meeting between UNE and RWU back on September 20 in Biddeford went right down to the wire, with the Hawks netting two second-half goals to come away with a 3-2 result. The two squads went to overtime in the 2024 title game.