The No. 22 ranked Rowan field hockey team started their journey to a national championship with a win, beating No. 16 Ursinus, 2-1 on Wednesday, Nov. 13 at Snell Field in Collegeville, PA. The win came in the opening round of NCAA tournament play and extended the Profs (15-7) winning streak to 11 games. 

After losing to Ursinus by four goals in their first meeting of the season, Rowan got contributions from its top players that ensured this game would have a different outcome. The biggest performance came from goalkeeper Mariah Juiliano, who made 11 saves during the game. Six of those saves came in the fourth quarter, which tied a career-high for saves made in a quarter. Juiliano talked about the pressure of trying to hold on to a score lead late in the game.

“There was one point when I came out of the cage to save the ball with my stick and then dove to the left side to save it with my glove, that was definitely stressful,” Juiliano said. “But that was more just instinct and I knew what I needed to do. I needed to save that ball to make sure we got to the second round.” 

Juiliano had given up six goals in the first game against Ursinus but was near-perfect this time around, the lone mistake coming just before halftime. Rowan looked poised to take a 1-0 lead into the half when a Rowan foul gave Ursinus a penalty corner with eight seconds to go. The Bears capitalized, scoring as the clock hit zero. Rowan head coach Michelle Andre was blunt when she talked to her team about giving up the late goal.

“I told them they shouldn’t have done it,” Andre said. “I told them to be mindful of what was happening on the field and what time it was on the field. After that, I just told them to forget about it and move on. 

Rowan’s two top goal-scorers on the season were the only two goal-scorers in this game. The recently named New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Rookie of the Year Jenna Gray scored the game-deciding goal just two minutes into the fourth quarter.

The other goal came from also recently named NJAC Midfielder of the Year Allie Palumbo, who gave the Profs a 1-0 lead early in the second quarter. Both players are not only playing in their first NCAA tournament but also playing key roles in getting tournament victories. Andre fully expected this level of performance out of her inexperienced but talented roster.

“One of the reasons we recruited the players we did is so they could help us compete at this level,” Andre said. “The expectation to perform is there because they’ve been doing it for the past three months now. It’s what they wanted out of the program and it’s what we wanted them here for.”

Rowan will now move on to No. 3 ranked Tufts in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Tufts is a familiar opponent for the Profs as they knocked Rowan out of the NCAA tournament last season. Juiliano was one of the few current members of the roster that started in that game and says the experience she’s accumulated during her time at Rowan is paying off during the current tournament run.

“This year was a lot of building for me personally,” Juiliano said. “Like starting off so poorly this season and growing every day from that, coming into the NCAAs I know the mentality and energy I need to keep.”

 The game will be played on Tufts home campus in Medford, MA, on Saturday, Nov. 16. 

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