WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University field hockey team wrapped up an iconic 25^th Anniversary season in 2021 with its first appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament Wednesday evening against four-time national champion Bowdoin College.
 
With a program all-time winning percentage south of 35 percent heading into 2021, the Warriors got the ball rolling last spring with four opening wins and a final spring record of 4-2 record (both losses by a goal) and only picked up speed in the fall by ultimately setting a slew of team and individual records, culminating in a first Little East Conference tournament championship which landed them in their first NCAA tournament.
 
Eastern began the run last March 26 with a 3-2 overtime home win over perennial LEC champion Keene State College and ended it with another one-goal win over the Owls, this time on the field of the tournament's No. 1 seed.
 
Eastern was ranked No. 8 among 13 conference teams in the coaches' pre-season poll prior to the start of the fall season but responded  with a record-setting 9-3 regular-season conference record. The Warriors were seeded third in the LEC tournament, where it outscored three opponents by 5-0 to earn the automatic bid extended to the tournament champion.

 

In the LEC tournament, Eastern avenged 2-1 regular-season losses to Plymouth State University and Worcester State University with successive 2-0 victories – the first at home the second away – to advance to the final at Keene State for the second time. After losing, 2-1, at Keene as the No. 4 seed in the 2015 title game, Eastern continued its stellar tournament defense this year, riding sophomore Isabel Sanchez' (Weston) tenth goal of the year in the seventh minute and junior Sarah Gallagher's (South Windsor) third straight LEC tournament shutout. Eastern could not be detoured despite being issued three green cards and a yellow card in a span of two minutes that gave the hosts a three-man advantage. Senior co-captain and defender Bryce Makula (Guilford) was voted as the tournament MVP.
 
It was only Keene's sixth championship game loss (second straight) in 20 appearances in the final.
 
Since last spring, Eastern had won 18 of 25 matches for a 72.0 winning percentage (with four of the seven losses coming by one goal) heading into Wednesday's NCAA tournament.
 
In addition to setting a multitude of team records that included overall and conference wins and winning percentage, Gallagher, in her first season as a starter, set season goalie records for wins (13) and full match shutouts (7)  and had the second-best season winning percentage (.684) by a goalie in program history.
 
Senior Brianna Nolan (Watertown) broke the previous season records for goals and points, with 15 and 31, respectively.
 
In end-of-the-season conference awards voting, two Eastern players were named to the All-LEC first team for the first time in 17 years, with three in all being selected to either the first, second or third team. The program was also rewarded with its first Player-of-the-Year recipient.