NEC play opens up for play tomorrow. It is looking to be an interesting season with the addition of Stonehill, the removal of Bryant, and a young Wagner rising to the top.
Fairfield
The Stags have had a rocky start to their season, starting with a 3-6 record. They are currently ranked 48th in the country at the moment and 4th in the conference for the expected win percentage.
Their wins come against Holy Cross, Lafayette, and Yale. Their losses come against Monmouth, Villanova, U Albany, Drexel, Miami, and Louisville. Their strength of schedule has been very high this year, which should help them win once they move. into in-conference play.
They have scored 10 goals compared to their opponent's 21. Leading in goals are senior Julianna Kratz and sophomore Agustina Casteluchi with three a piece. Graduate student Nora Amme is leading the team with 5 assists.
In goal, Payton Rahn is posting a .720 save percentage and is coming off an impressive win in shootouts versus Yale.
Fairfield won last year's NEC tournament, will they rise to the top or will they be dethroned?
The Stags open up versus Sacred Heart on Friday.
Sacred Heart:
The Pioneers have not clinched a win yet this season, but are fighting hard to get their first one.
They started their season with a strong showing versus Syracuse, holding them to 0-0 at half-time, before ultimately falling to the Orange. Their first goal came in their second match against UVM. They also went into overtime versus Georgetown, losing 2-3. Their other losses come against Yale, Dartmouth, Lehigh, Hofstra, and Brown.
They currently have 6 goals, which is an improvement in comparison to having 3 this time last season. Leading the Pio offensive effort is freshman Emma Brayford from Breiningsville, PA. The freshman already has posted 3 goals in her young career. Transfer student Mira Poelzer has also tallied a goal and two assists. Freshman Lizzie Mendrzycki also tallied two assists.
In the defense, Mira Poelzer and junior Hannah Fawle have both posted two defensive saves each. Sophomore Sammie Maresca has been a beast in the cage, with 52 saves on the season. She is currently ranked 9th in the country for saves per game. She is posting a .650 save percentage at the moment.
Sacred Heart has a young team with a lot of talent. Hopefully, the young talent will be enough to carry the team to an NEC tournament bid.
Rider:
Rider is currently 4-4 on the season. The predicted wins have them winning the whole conference, while the NCAA rankings have them sitting far behind in 62.
They started their opening weekend with strong wins against Bellarmine and Colgate. They also posted shutouts against Towson and most recently Georgetown. Their losses come against App State, La Salle, Lock Haven, and Drexel.
Rider is being led by freshman Valeria Perales from Madrid, Spain. The freshman has started every game, and has 9 goals, and 2 assists. She also leads the team in shots, with 33 shots. Freshman Indy Zoontjens from Hilversum, Netherlands is also having an impressive start to her career, with 3 goals and 3 assists at the moment. Senior Sierra Giuliana has also been impressive on the field with 3 goals and 3 assists.
Senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Tomas continues to be a brick wall, with 39 saves and a .780 save percentage. She has had 2 shutouts between the posts this season. Last year she has 45 saves with a .692 save percentage.
The Broncs look to be on a good path for an impressive season. Will Fairfield be able to keep their thrown, or with there be a new champion in the NEC?
They open NEC play versus Saint Francis.
SFU
Saint Francis is currently 1-8.
Their lone win comes in a 1-0 game against Holy Cross. They started their season against strong opponents, in consecutive losses to Ball State and Miami. They then continued their season with a 3-4 double overtime loss to Brown and an overtime loss to Georgetown. Their other losses come against Drexel, Villanova, JMU, and Lock Haven.
Sophomore Eva Valentini is leading the Red Flash in goals with 5 and has 2 assists to her name. Junior Julia Breneman has 4 assists on the season. Junior Oliva Muffitt has also been strong with 2 goals and 1 assist.
In goal, both senior Amber Bryan and senior Chloe South have seen time between the posts. Bryan has 22 saves and South has 19. Combined the two are posting a 0.641 save percentage. South has been doing slightly better in goal but has seen fewer minutes than Bryan.
Wagner
The Seahawks are only in their 4th season as a program, and are already impressively strong. They are 4-4 at the moment and sit just above Fairfield at 48th in the country.
They started their season with two wins, one against Hofstra and one against Yale. The Hofstra win came in shootouts. They then lost consecutive games against UMass Lowell and Cornell. Their other wins come against Lehigh and Towson, while their other losses come against Columbia and Monmouth. Other than a 0-2 loss at Columbia, all their games have come down to a one goal differential.
Graduate student Julia Cruces Pastorino continues to be a menace against any defense she faces. She has 3 goals and 4 assists this year. Graduate transfer, by way of Sacred Heart, Kayla Kruk has also been a force for the seahawks thus far, posting 2 goals and 2 assists. Senior Kira Mordvinoc has also tallied 3 goals this year, and graduate student Laura van Hamburg has 2 goals and an assist to her name.
In goal, Graduate student Daisy Ruhle, has been a wall. She has 50 saves on the season and is posting a 0.769 save percentage, placing her at 18th in the country for save percentage.
Wagner is expected to come in second in the conference at the moment. They will be relying on the experience of their upperclassmen as they try to gain the title of NEC champions.
They start their NEC campaign at Merrimack.
Merrimack
Merrimack has started their season 0-8.
Despite not having won a game, they have scored in every game they have played thus far. Their most goals came in a 3-7 loss at Holy Cross. The closest game was a 1-2 loss at Bryant and a 1-2 game at Dartmouth. Their other losses come from Colgate, La Salle, UVM, UMass Lowell, and Lehigh.
Freshman Autumn Bartush has recorded two goals, and junior Lauren Burke has also recorded two goals. Junior Anne-Sophie Hogenboom leads in assists with 3 and sophomore Julia Wester follows with 2. 6 other players are on the board with one goal each.
Between the posts, Freshman Isabelle Gardiner from Hertfordshire, UK has put up a strong effort, with 50 saves and a 0.625 save percentage. Freshman Paige Degeorge from Saco, Maine has also seen some time in goal with 10 saves and a 0.769 save percentage.
While the Warriors are not eligible to compete in the tournament this year, with a young team they will be one to watch.
Stonehill
Stonehill has started its first season as a Division One program with a 1-4 start.
Their sole win comes against Lindenwood, who also just joined Divison 1. They won 4-3 in overtime. Their season started slowly with two 0-7 losses coming against Hofstra and Northeastern. Their other losses came against Saint Louis and Bryant.
Junior Raegan Hickey and freshman Makayla Strickulis both have 3 goals on the season. Senior Andrea Caradonna also has 1 goal.
In goal, sophomore Shannon Conte has 49 saves and is posting a 0.671 save percentage.
They open season play against LIU.
LIU
LIU currently is 3-6 and is predicted to come in third.
They started their season off with three losses, coming against Villanova, UMass Lowell, and Columbia. They then won against La Salle. Their other wins come against Quinnipiac and Georgetown. Their losses come against Temple, Hofstra, and Lehigh.
Leading the offensive effort in goals is redshirt freshman, Jules Kuzmich with 3 goals. Graduate student Meilin Liotard leads in points with 7, with 2 goals and 3 assists. Seniors Felicia King and Saarah Olton both have 6 points apiece.
In goal, Maggie Streichert has 56 saves and a 0.718 save percentage. She has a 2.40 goals-against average.