ST. MARY’S CITY, Md. — The St. Mary’s College of Maryland field hockey team secured its second consecutive United East Conference tournament championship with a 1-0 double-overtime victory over Penn State Harrisburg on November 8, 2025. Senior captain Emma Watkins scored the game’s lone goal with 4:26 remaining in the second overtime period, earning tournament most valuable player honors and advancing the Seahawks to the NCAA Division III tournament for the third straight year.
The top-seeded Seahawks, finishing the regular season at 13-5 overall and 4-0 in conference play, outshot the second-seeded Lions 30-7, including a 15-4 edge in shots on goal. They also held an 11-4 advantage in penalty corners during the match at Jamie L. Roberts Stadium, a lighted artificial turf facility overlooking the St. Mary’s River that opened in 2023 and seats 500 spectators. Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Kent recorded three saves for her 11th shutout of the season and fifth solo shutout, improving her record to 11-5. Penn State Harrisburg goalkeeper MacKenzie Mulholland stopped 13 shots, while defender Alexis Nasuta notched the Lions’ first defensive save of the year.
The defensive battle remained scoreless through four quarters and the first overtime. St. Mary’s controlled possession early, generating 10 shots in the third period alone, but Mulholland made five saves and Nasuta added a defensive stop to preserve the tie. In the fourth quarter, the Seahawks fired five shots to Harrisburg’s two, with Kent turning away one attempt and Mulholland denying two more. The first overtime saw Kent and junior defender Safi Stimely combine for two saves during a Lions flurry, while Mulholland added another stop late to force a second extra period.
Watkins, a Frederick native and Linganore High School graduate majoring in psychology, collected the rebound from a first-year midfielder Morgan Knott pass deflected by a Harrisburg defender. She spun past the marker and slipped the ball past Mulholland’s dive for her 13th goal of the season. The victory improved St. Mary’s all-time series lead over Penn State Harrisburg to 4-0, including two playoff wins and a 1-0 overtime regular-season decision in 2024.
This title marks the third consecutive conference tournament championship for the Seahawks, following their 2023 Atlantic East Conference crown before transitioning to the United East. The program, now in its 49th season, has made three straight NCAA appearances, a streak that began after a 10-11 campaign in 2024 where they fell 4-0 to Christopher Newport in the first round. St. Mary’s entered the weekend on a two-game win streak after routing No. 4 seed Lancaster Bible College 9-0 in the semifinals on November 1.
In that semifinal at Roberts Stadium, senior forward Brenna Ziegler set career highs with two goals and three assists for seven points, powering the Seahawks to a 51-1 shot advantage and 18-1 edge in penalty corners. Ziegler’s efforts included assists on Watkins’ opener at 2:00 and Tori Hampton’s tally at 11:51 in the first quarter, plus her own unassisted strike at 40:55 for a 7-0 lead. Josie Shermeyer, Briana Allen, Stimely, Olivia Schwendeman and Fiona Kortyna also scored, with Kent and Caroline McDonald sharing the shutout in net. The win boosted St. Mary’s series lead over Lancaster Bible to 3-0 and marked their 10th shutout, underscoring a defense that allowed just 0.79 goals per game during the regular season.
The Seahawks’ success reflects a blend of local talent and regional recruiting. About 40 percent of the 24-player roster hails from Maryland, including Watkins, Hampton and McDonald from Frederick’s Tuscarora High School, Allen from Bowie’s Mount de Sales Academy and Stimely from Linthicum’s Broadneck High School. Ziegler, a Newark, Delaware, product and Newark Charter graduate, shattered the program’s single-season points record with 38 earlier this fall against Goucher. The team also features Pittsburgh’s Kortyna and Harrisburg’s Shermeyer, adding depth to a unit that posted 100 points for the season.
Under interim head coach Allyson Osborne, who took over in August 2025 following Jessica Lanham’s resignation after nine seasons that included two NFHCA All-Region honorees and an Atlantic East title, the Seahawks navigated a schedule with 16 matches, eight at home. Lanham’s tenure saw the program earn its first conference crown in 2023, building on a foundation established since field hockey’s addition in 1977. Osborne, a former assistant, guided the team through a preseason No. 1 ranking in the United East coaches’ poll and weekly honors for seniors like Allen and Jena Vanskiver.
The NCAA selection show on November 9 at 9 p.m. on NCAA.com paired the Seahawks as the No. 4 seed in their regional with a first-round matchup at No. 1 Dickinson on November 12 at 2 p.m. in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The Red Devils (18-3) host, with the winner facing either Salisbury (17-2) or Denison (12-6) in the second round on November 15. Semifinals and the final are set for November 21 and 23 at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. St. Mary’s seeks its first NCAA win since 2010, when they reached the second round.
As the Seahawks prepare for Dickinson, their three-game win streak and 11 shutouts highlight a balanced attack averaging 4.2 goals per game. Ziegler’s 14 goals lead the team, complemented by Watkins’ 13 and Allen’s contributions on five shots on goal in the semis. Kent’s .889 save percentage anchors a backline allowing fewer than one goal per outing. This postseason run positions St. Mary’s to build on recent momentum in a county where collegiate sports bolster community pride and youth development.
