West Haven, Conn-  With their 3-2 win over the University of New Haven Chargers, for the first time in school history, the Pace University Field Hockey team will play in the NorthEast 10 Championship Game.

Prior to the game, 5 players earned 6 rounds of recognition by the NE-10 in the season-end awards press release. Sophomore midfielder Krista Dietz was named to the first all-conference team. Fellow sophomore midfielder Noëlle Meij was named to the second all-conference team.  Representing the Setters for the third all-conference team are freshman goalkeeper Alina Buerger, who was also named to the all-rookie team, and senior midfielder/forward Jessica Wolfe.

The Setters made their trip to West Haven where an opponent who shut out mighty Bentley University got the right to host one more game. The Chargers and  Setters met before on September 27th on their home field the Ralph F. DellaCamera Stadium where Pace suffered a  4-3 defeat. This time it was for a chance at hardware.

Quarter one was physical, to say the least. Only 2 shots all period, both by Krista Dietz. Between teams, there were 10 fouls for New Haven and 17 for Pace. At the 18-minute mark of the second Dietz got a goal and put the team up 1. New Haven would only muster one more shot and 10 more fouls to Pace 9 going into halftime.

Dietz once again had a hand in scoring, her pass to freshman midfielder Tavia Flecksteiner put the Setters up 2-0 just 3 minutes into the 3rd. Once again, Pace’s defense would choke up the New Haven Offense, allowing no shots.

The Chargers would not die. Their defense led by  NE-10 Defensive Player of The Year Taylor Geaglone shut Pace down to 2 shots only 14 minutes apart. Meanwhile, on offense, sophomore forward Abby Nixon pulled the Chargers within one with her 46th-minute goal. And at the 52nd minute, the game was tied by junior forward Kat Trammel, suddenly making the rest of this game nerve-racking.

The game would remain tied. Overtime began here in the NE-10 Semifinal.

Multiple chances came early. New Haven’s Zharria John made a shot that Pace’s Buerger saved. John’s teammate had a second chance blocked by Pace sophomore defender Melissa Ritchie. On the other end, Pace senior defender Hannah Wylie had two shots go just wide of the cage. It was apparent both teams were looking to break the other’s heart.

In all, there were 10 shots in the extra period. None saw the back of the net. Double Overtime.

There were 3 shots, all went to Pace. There was in fact nearly a third overtime. However, in the 87th minute, Junior defender Kate Demars took a pass from Krista Dietz and scored the 3rd and deciding goal. Jubilation and joy for Pace, heartbreak, and disappointment for the University of New Haven. For the first time ever, Pace would be in the NE-10 Field Hockey championship game.

The 7th seed rolls on. They go to Long Island to meet the number 4 team in the country, Adelphi University on November 20th. The Setters have previously defeated the Panthers earlier this month, on November 9th. They look to do it again and bring the trophy home.

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