Ohio Wesleyan at Cortland

The Ohio Wesleyan University field hockey team will face eighth-ranked Cortland in a first-round game of the NCAA Division III tournament on Wednesday in Cortland, N.Y., it was announced by the NCAA on Sunday.

Ohio Wesleyan (17-4) won the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament with wins over DePauw (4-0) and Denison (1-0), the Battling Bishops' third NCAC tournament title in the last 4 seasons.  The Bishops shared the NCAC championship with a 9-1 record, Ohio Wesleyan's second consecutive conference crown.  Ohio Wesleyan will be making its 11th NCAA Division III playoff appearance.

Senior forward Colleen McMenamin (Chester, N.J./West Morris Regional) leads the balanced Ohio Wesleyan offense with 9 goals on the season, while sophomore forward Mattison Hyland (Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley) has 8 goals and 4 assists for a team-high 20 points.  Sophomore midfielder Grace Ammon (Southborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) has scored 5 goals and leads the NCAC with 9 assists.  Senior goalkeeper Meg McCarthy (Trumbull, Conn.) has recorded 8 shutouts and a 1.06 goals-against average on the season.  McCarthy and senior defender Ellie Conroy (Worthington/Thomas Worthington), senior defender Gabi Dahllof (Bear. Del./Caravel Academy), junior defensive midfielder Alyssa Markell (Leesburg, Va./Loudoun County), senior defender Zoë Nelson (Frederick, Md./Urbana), and senior goalkeeper Brynn Schlesinger (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) have helped Ohio Wesleyan lead NCAA Division III teams with 13 shutouts this season.

Cortland (17-1) won the State University of New York Athletic Conference tournament with wins over SUNY-Oswego and SUNY-New Paltz.  The Red Dragons finished atop the SUNYAC championship race with a 4-0 record.  Cortland was ranked No. 8 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association rankings of Nov. 5.  Cortland is making its 32nd appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament.  The Red Dragons won NCAA Division III championships in 1993, 1994, and 2001.

Senior forward Keirra Ettere and senior forward Hanna Corrigan each have 18 goals on the season, while senior forward Gianna Trunfio has scored 11 goals and senior forward Jamie Snyder has 10.  Cortland ranks fifth among NCAA Division III teams in scoring with an average of 4.22 goals per game and is second nationally in scoring margin with an average of 3.93 per game.  Junior goalkeeper Emma Morgan has started all 18 games in the Red Dragon cage and has 6 shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.60.  Cortland has 10 shutouts on the season, tied for fifth in NCAA Division III.

Ohio Wesleyan and Cortland have met once in field hockey, that coming in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division III tournament, when the Bishops defeated the Red Dragons, 2-1, in overtime.  Keirra Ettere scored to give Cortland a 1-0 lead late in the first half.  Midway through the third quarter, McMenamin saved the ball from going over the end line, then passed to Emily Streeter for the equalizer.  The Bishops took the win in the sixth minute of overtime on a one-time shot by Megan Knee.  McCarthy stopped 9 shots in the Bishop cage.

Ohio Wesleyan and Cortland have one common opponent this season, York (Pa.).  York defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 2-0, on Sept. 21 and defeated Cortland, 1-0, on Oct. 9.  Against teams that advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament this season, Ohio Wesleyan is 1-1 with a 7-1 win over Westfield State and a 2-0 loss to York (Pa.), while Cortland is 2-1 with wins over Ithaca (2-1) and Marywood (3-0) and the 1-0 loss to York (Pa.).

The winner of Wednesday's first-round game will advance to face the winner of Wednesday's game between Marywood and Johns Hopkins.  The second-round and quarterfinal matchups will be played on Saturday and Sunday at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt.

NCAA championship release
NCAA championship bracket (interactive)
NCAA championship bracket (printable)