Bentley to Host Saint Anselm Again, Sunday in NE10 Quarterfinals
WALTHAM, Mass. – Just days after playing in the final match of the regular season, Bentley and Saint Anselm will renew acquaintances in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday in the 3-6 seed matchup.
Heading into the final day of the regular season on Wednesday both the Falcons and Hawks needed a result to secure a home match for the quarterfinal round. And it was Bentley that earned a hard-fought 2-1 win behind goals by McKenzie Sullivan (Suffield, Conn./Suffield) in the 45th minute and Amanda Andriano (Fort Salonga, N.Y./St. Anthony's) in the 56th minute.
Graduate student center back Megan Doubleday (Wolcott, Conn./Wolcott) made a big goal line clearance in the first half that prevented the Hawks from scoring the game's first goal.
Wednesday's win saw Bentley earn the No. 3 seed in the NE10 Championship. They finished the regular season with an 8-4-1 NE10 record and an 8-5-3 mark overall. Saint Anselm is the No. 6 seed with a 7-5-1 NE10 record.
It was also a big win in the regional rankings for Bentley to knock off Saint Anselm. The Hawks are ranked 4th in the East Region this week and the Falcons are 7th in the East Region.
The Falcons have again been one of the strongest defensive teams in the NE10. They conceded just 13 goals all season, well less than one per game at 0.77. Graduate student goalkeeper Kat Hassapis (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) finished the regular season with the best save percentage in the NE10 at .884.
Bentley's backline in front of Hassapis has been stellar all season, featuring the likes of Rebecca Nguyen (Dudley, Mass./Shepherd Hill), Doubleday, Maeli Cherry (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy), Jillian Hendriksen (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke) and Corinne Messier (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton).
The goal scoring has been widespread throughout the squad. Senior Dana Goulet (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington), junior Brooke Jones (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) and freshman Sydney O'Connor (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield) share the team lead with five goals.
This will be the second straight season Bentley is hosting in the quarterfinal round. In 2019 as the No. 4 seed they defeated the No. 5 seed SNHU 1-0.
The other quarterfinal matches on Sunday will see the No. 1 seed SNHU against No. 8 Southern Connecticut. No. 2 Saint Rose will host No. 7 Adelphi and No. 4 Assumption will host No. 5 Franklin Pierce.
The semifinals are set for Thursday, Nov. 11 and the championship match on Sunday Nov. 14.
All the NE10 postseason action can be viewed on the NE10 Now digital network.