PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Postseason field hockey returns to Peter X. Finnerty Field on Tuesday afternoon as No. 4 seed Pace University Field Hockey welcomes No. 5 Bentley University for a Northeast 10 Conference Championship opening round match-up at 3:30 p.m.
The Setters enter the postseason at 12-6 overall after closing conference play at 5-4, earning the fourth seed and home-field advantage for the opening round. Bentley also finished 5-4 in NE10 action and enters Tuesday at 8-10 overall.
Pace carries momentum into the postseason after putting together consecutive victories to close the regular season. The Setters shut out then-No. 8 Saint Anselm College, 3-0, before producing a 5-1 victory over Franklin Pierce University in Friday's regular-season finale.
Feline Rook has been at the center of that late-season surge. The sophomore scored twice against Saint Anselm before recording her third hat trick of the season against Franklin Pierce. Rook enters the postseason with 16 goals, 11 assists and a team-high 43 points.
Grace Francis has added 14 goals and four assists for 32 points, including a goal and two assists in the regular-season finale. Freshman Stella Musso has contributed seven goals and six assists, with her six helpers tying Pace's freshman single-season assists record.
The Setters defense has also delivered several key performances down the stretch. Pace limited Saint Anselm to four shots on goal in its shutout victory, while Josefina Villa Alonso added a goal at the other end of the field. Freshman goalkeeper Tara Dusée made four saves to secure the clean sheet.
Tuesday will mark the second meeting of the season between Pace and Bentley. The Setters earned a 3-1 victory on Oct. 17 in Pleasantville, scoring three times after halftime. Carlotta Oschmann opened the scoring before Ava Gile and Olivia Martinez added goals, while Rook assisted on the first two tallies.
Bentley enters the quarterfinal on a two-game winning streak of its own, closing the regular season with victories over Franklin Pierce and Southern New Hampshire University to secure the fifth seed.
The winner of Tuesday's contest advances to the NE10 Championship semifinals and will travel to face No. 1 seed Saint Anselm on Friday, Nov. 13 at 4:00 p.m.
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