Ewing, NJ... The field of teams heading to The College of New Jersey for this weekend's second and third rounds of the NCAA Field Hockey Tournament is now set.
 
The Lions and Catholic University each earned byes into Saturday's second round, but SUNY New Paltz and Messiah College both posted wins on Wednesday to extend their seasons. New Paltz defeated Keene State College 6-3 and will face TCNJ at 11 a.m., while Catholic plays Messiah at 2 p.m. Messiah moved on with a 2-0 road win at Kenyon College.
 
The winners of Saturday's games will then return to the field on Sunday, November 16 at 1 p.m. with an opportunity to advance to the national semifinals.
 
The fourth-ranked Lions (19-1) enter the tournament riding an 11-game winning streak and have also won 23 straight at Lions Stadium. TCNJ earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over rival Rowan University in the New Jersey Athletic Conference Championships. Senior Erin Healy (Spring Lake Heights, NJ/Manasquan) scored the winning goal with 1:42 left in overtime with an assist from classmate Erin Waller (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.).
 
This season, the Lions possess one of the best offenses in program history having scored 97 goals. Only three times has a team scored 100 or more goals, with the last coming in 1986. Senior Lindsey Hatch (Sewell, NJ/Washington Twp.) leads TCNJ in goals (29), assists (20) and points (78). Sophomore Jaclyn Douglas (Malvern, NJ/Great Valley) has a career-high 21 goals, while Healy has 16 goals and 11 assists.
 
The defense has done its part as well with senior Victoria Martin (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson) directing that unit. Sophomore goalie Kelly Schlupp (Holland, PA/Council Rock South) has started every game this season and has a 0.89 goals-against-average
 
The Hawks (15-6) scored four times in the second half to beat Keene State College 6-3 and advance to the second round. Senior Alex Garro (Cortlandt Manor, NY/Hendrick Hudson) scored what turned out to be the deciding goal. That goal came with 12:46 left in regulation. New Paltz had six different goal scorers in the game.
 
That type of offensive balance has carried the Hawks this season with Kayla McKeveny (Holbrook, NY/Sachem East) and Justine O'Reilly (West Sayville, NY/West Sayville) leading the team with 11 goals apiece.
 
This will mark the fourth meeting between New Paltz and TCNJ, with the Lions winning the previous three.
 
Catholic (15-3) is the other team in the bracket that earned a bye into the second round. The seventh-ranked Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the tournament out of the Landmark Conference.
 
Leading the way for Catholic is senior Maura Campbell (Media, PA/Archbishop John Carroll). On Thursday, she was named the Landmark Conference Player of the Year for the second straight season and was an all-conference selection for the fourth straight year. The midfielder leads the team in both goals (7) and points (19).
 
Sophomore Analisa Scott (Hershey, PA/Lower Dauphin) has recorded 14 wins in goal for the Cardinals and has made 58 saves with a 0.82 GAA.
 
Messiah, which is ranked 19^th, advanced to the second round of the tournament with a 2-0 shutout at Kenyon College on Wednesday. The Falcons got a first-half goal by freshman Taylor Holt (Bear, DE/Red Lion Christian Academy) and an insurance goal by freshman Carissa Gehman (Holtwood, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) in the second half to account for all of the scoring. Goalie Carly Day (Mechanicsburg, PA/Mechanicsburg) posted three saves to earn the win.
 
Gehman has put together a banner thus far, leading the team with 26 goals and 54 points. She was tabbed as the 2014 Commonwealth Rookie of the Year.
 
Tickets for the games this weekend are $5 for adults, $3 for students and seniors.