STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. (November 5, 2023) – 19-6.
 
The Sacred Heart University field hockey team surrendered 19 penalty corners in the Northeast Conference Championship title game on Sunday afternoon at Wagner. The Pioneers collected just six of their own.
 
The last of those six though? It made all the difference in the world.
 
For the second straight outing, Isabelle Chamberlain (North Yorkshire, United Kingdom) provided the winner in extra time after a scoreless regulation. She let loose a cannon from the top of the circle, which found its way through onrushing traffic and hit the backboard with a thud which sent SHU (9-10) through to the NCAA Championship. The third-seeded Pios claimed a 1-0 (OT) win over fourth seed and host Wagner (6-12), to lift the NEC trophy for the second time in program history (2005).
 
"I'm just so proud of what this team has accomplished and how far they've come," said head coach Sydney Van Der Merwe after the game. "They've worked hard all year and they're so close as a team. All season long, they've challenged themselves and pushed themselves to get better and better."
 
The 62^nd-minute goal made sure the work of Samantha Maresca (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) and the SHU defense would not go for naught. The Pios conceded 19 corners on the day, which allowed Wagner to amass advantages of 23-10 in shot attempts and 14-6 in shots on goal. Sacred Heart staved it all off.
 
Wagner's best chance of the afternoon came in the second quarter, off one of its eight corners in the frame. Emma Lofstedt let a shot fly from the top of the circle, which was flagged down by Megan Albert (Lansdale, Pa.) en route, but she wound up deflecting it straight to Natalie Rocuskie outside the right post.
 
With Maresca off her line defending the original shot, Rocuskie was left with the entire cage to aim for, and from point-blank range. Somehow, in a moment that seemed to defy physics, a sprawling Albert got her stick to the shot along the ground, the ball popped up in the air and then bounced on the goal line, where Emma Brayford (Breiningsville, Pa.) was waiting. Brayford deftly reversed her stick, knocked the ball off the line, dragged around the body of the fallen Albert and ushered it to safety to keep the game scoreless.
 
Brayford's defensive save was arguably the biggest of SHU's 14 saves on the afternoon, but Maresca was on point throughout. She turned aside 13 shots of her own, which gave her 19 saves and a pair of shutouts over the weekend at the NEC Championship. Needless to say, she earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, where she was joined by Brayford, Chamberlain and Madelyn Kidd (Hillsborough, N.J.), who assisted on Chamberlain's overtime winner.
 
Chamberlain was the NEC Championship's Most Valuable Player, as she scored the only two goals SHU would need to claim the crown.
 
The Pios advance to the NCAA Championship, with play slated to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 8. SHU will learn its destination and opponent later Sunday in the NCAA selection show, which will air on ncaa.com at 10 p.m.