Quinnipiac Faces Sacred Heart in NEC Semifinal Showdown

No. 2 Quinnipiac vs No. 3 Sacred Heart
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026 | 2:00 PM
Staten Island, NY | Wagner Field Hockey Complex
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HAMDEN, CT – The No. 2-seeded Quinnipiac field hockey team faces in-state rival and No. 3 seed Sacred Heart in the semifinals of the NEC Field Hockey Championship on Thursday, Nov. 5.

ALL-CONFERENCE CATS

Senior forward Ava Bleier was named Co-Offensive Player of the Year, while first-year goalkeeper Meike van Schoot earned Rookie of the Year in Quinnipiac's first season back in the conference.
Five Bobcats earned First Team honors, including Bleier, sophomore forward Rozemarijn van Keulen, sophomore midfielder Charlie Caunter, junior defender Jule Hoefer and senior defender Katie Shanahan
Van Schoot and senior forward Martina Calveira were named to the Second Team.
All seven Bobcats earn their first postseason honors.

HEAD TO HEAD WITH THE PIOS

In the last meeting between the two teams, Quinnipiac earned a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over Sacred Heart.
Ava Bleier opened the scoring for the Bobcats early in the second quarter before the Pioneers tied with just seven seconds remaining in regulation.
First-year Julia Lutz secured the golden goal just 2:17 into overtime, giving Quinnipiac its first NEC victory of the season.

A SEASON FOR THE BOOKS

Quinnipiac finished the regular season with an 11-5 overall record and 7-1 in NEC play.
This was the Bobcats' first back-to-back 10+ win season since 2012-13.
The Bobcats rank 14th nationally in save percentage (.762), 15th in goals per game (3.00), 17th in points per game (8.41).
QU leads the NEC in overall scoring average (3.00) and goals-against average (1.56), and sits third in save percentage (.762).
Ava Bleier leads the team and conference with 12 goals, and sits in second with 27 points, while Rozemarijn van Keulen and Martina Calveira are in third and fourth with 26 and 25 points.

BLEIER ON FIRE

Ava Bleier leads the Bobcats and NEC with a career-high 12 goals and 27 points.
The senior sits 1st in the NEC and 19th nationally in goals per game (0.75) and 25th nationally in points per game (1.69).
Bleier scored her first collegiate hat trick against Merrimack on Oct. 18, recording a game-high eight point performance.
The forward earned NEC Offensive Player of the week for the third time this season after recording four goals and three assists against Mercyhurst and Merrimack last weekend.

ROZE TO THE OCCASION

Rozemarijn van Keulen has recorded a career-high 26 points on nine goals and eight assists.
The forward ranks 18th nationally in points per game (1.86) and 21st in goals per game (0.75).
Van Keulen leads the NEC in points per game (1.86), ranks second in assists (8) and assists per game (0.571),third in goals per game (.643), points (26), fourth in total goals (9).
Van Keulen joined Bleier in scoring her first collegiate hat trick against Merrimack on Oct. 18 and recording a game-high seven point performance.
The sophomore recorded at least one point in 11 of 14 games, including four multi-point performances.

MEIKE-ING AN IMPACT

First-year goalkeeper Meike van Schoot has posted a 11-5 record in her debut collegiate season, including two shutouts.
Van Schoot ranks 18th nationally in save percentage (.760).
Van Schoot earned NEC Rookie of the Week honors on Oct. 13 after helping the Bobcats secure back-to-back wins over LIU and Dartmouth. She came up with a crucial save in overtime against Dartmouth to help seal the victory.
The rookie won her second NEC Defensive Player of the Week honor on Sept 22. She recorded 16 saves on the weekend while allowing just two goals.
The goalkeeper earned NEC Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week on Sept. 9 after an impressive weekend in goal, recording 23 saves on 29 shots faced against Bucknell and Brown.
Van Schoot posted a career-high 18 saves against Brown, including six on penalty corners and a crucial penalty stroke save just three minutes into the game.
In just her fourth collegiate appearance, van Schoot's 18 save performance marked the most saves by a Quinnipiac goalkeeper in a single game since Sept. 4, 2011.

HEAD COACH NINA KLEIN

Nina Klein enters her fourth season as the head field hockey coach and second coach in program history, replacing longtime head coach Becca Main.
A season ago, Klein helped lead the Bobcats to their first 10-win season since 2013.
Sophomore Francisca Eschoyez was named BIG-EAST co-offensive player of the year, ALL-BIG EAST First Team, and NFHCA Third-Team All-American. In 2024, Eschoyez earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors.
In Klein's first season at the helm of the Bobcats, she helped the Bobcats to one of their best finishes in BIG EAST play.
Klein also helped guide Stella Tegtmeier to the first major BIG EAST award in program history, with Tegtmeier taking home BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year in 2023.
A selector for USA Field Hockey U16 goalkeepers, Klein returns to Quinnipiac after serving as the assistant field hockey coach at Boston College for the 2022 season.
Prior to her time at Boston College, Klein joined the Bobcats under Becca Main and was elevated to associate head coach prior to the 2019 season.
A UConn graduate, Klein served the Huskies as a volunteer assistant for the 2018 season.

For more information on Quinnipiac Field Hockey, visit gobobcats.com/fh and follow the team on Twitter and Instagram, @QU_FH.

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Players Mentioned

Ava Bleier

Martina Calveira

Charlie Caunter

Francisca Eschoyez

Jule Hoefer

Julia Lutz

Katie Shanahan

Meike van Schoot

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