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BEVERLY, Mass. -- Top seed Endicott College gained a two-goal cushion early in the second half and held off fourth-seeded University of New England for a 3-2 result in the semifinals of the 2026 Conference of New England (CNE) Field Hockey Championship on Wednesday night (Nov. 4) at North Field.
Ranked No.24 in the latest national poll, the Gulls (15-4) advance to Saturday's final and will host third-seeded Roger Williams University, which defeated Western New England University in OT (2-1). Endicott edged RWU in overtime in last season's championship game, while the Hawks were the only CNE squad to beat EC during the 2026 regular season.
The margin was a slim one goal through 30 minutes, after a late 1st-period penalty stroke converted by Riley Perkins. The Gulls had a 14-4 advantage in total shots, and 9-1 edge in corners, but UNE's
Riley Curtin came up with eight saves to keep the hosts off of the board during live action in the half.
Lily Johnson recorded EC's only shot on goal in the 3rd quarter to make it 2-0 in the 34th minute, before the Nor'easters started to find some traction in the other direction. UNE had six corners and six shots over the next 5:30, and made one of those count in the 39th minutes to get back within one. After
Ayla Lagasse inserted a corner from the left side, the ball was passed back to the left wing for
Emma Shuman to push towards the cage, and Lagasse batted it into the far side net. It was the first tally for the sophomore midfielder as a Nor'easter, and the assist by Shuman marked the first in the defender's four-year career.
While Endicott bumped the lead to 3-1 in the 47th minute, as Sabrina Brunet tipped a drive by Perkins into the netting, UNE drew three of the game's four corners over the next eight minutes to keep battling. The last chance paid off, as
Ella Reeves stuck with it after having her initial try blocked and chipped the ball into traffic so that
Riley Zielinski could backhand it off the first hop and over the keeper with 5:12 to go. The goal was Zielinski's fourth of the season, and Reeves logged her team-leading 18th point with the assist.
That was the final opportunity for the visitors, though, with the hosts mostly sustaining possession in the offensive half. Faith Minickene finished with four saves to backstop the Gulls, who closed on top of total shots (27-15) and penalty corners (15-10).
"It was a hard-fought game today," commented UNE head coach Danielle Collins. "The team came ready to go and we had our chances to put a few more in the cage, but just came up short. I'm very proud of the way this group developed over the season, and thankful for our seniors for leading that effort."
Curtin turned away nine in defeat. During her rookie campaign, she denied 172 shots -- the most saves by a UNE goalkeeper in program history. Curtin's save percentage of .808 goes in as the sixth-best on record.
The Nor'easters -- who were making their 17 consecutive appearance in the league semis -- wrap up the year with an overall ledger of 9-11.
Wednesday's matchup between UNE and Endicott was the 44th all-time meeting in 23 seasons of existence for both programs. It was also the 11th conference tournament showdown over the last 15 years, which includes eight title games from 2011 to 2022.
