St. Joe’s field hockey reaches NCAA tournament second round with ‘gritty’ win over Lafayette

St. Joseph’s field hockey has approached this season with a “ride-or-die” mentality that fifth-year back Julia Duffhuis said has only grown throughout the season.

And the Hawks saw it in action with their 1-0 win over Lafayette in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s paying off right now, and obviously it’s the most important time for it to pay off,” Duffhuis said. “We’ve worked for it so hard. So, yeah, I think that ride-or-die mentality is definitely helping us now.”

The third-ranked Hawks (18-3), who are the No. 4 seed in the tournament, will face No. 13 Princeton in the second round Sunday at Ellen Ryan Field (noon, ESPN+). The Tigers (14-5) upset No. 7 Boston College, 1-0, on Friday.

» READ MORE: With a ‘do-or-die mentality,’ St. Joe’s wins its fourth straight A-10 field hockey title

Junior forward Alison Buffington said the team has kept the idea of playing for each other at the forefront of its game this year. It benefitted St. Joe’s on Friday, as it played what coach Hannah Prince called “a really gritty game.”

“One of our big focuses this year is as a team, we are one,” Buffington said. “Whether that’s backs as one, mids as one, forwards as one, and then all together, our lines were very cohesive, and I think that really allows us to play our game.”

The game remained scoreless through the first three quarters. It wasn’t until Buffington found the back of the cage at the 10-minute, 7-second mark in the fourth quarter that the Hawks finally got on the board.

“We were playing great hockey, and so it was going to come. We were going to capitalize; we were going to get some outcomes,” Buffington said. “Just getting that securing goal, it was great to be there, especially on our home turf, and be able to play a good game for all of our fans and everyone.”

Prince added: “I’m just really proud of the girls for the effort and determination that they had today, and it was amazing to see us execute in a key moment of the game.”

On the defensive end, St. Joe’s held the Leopards to one shot and no shots on goal throughout the game.

“I want to give credit to our whole backfield, because I feel like we really work together as a unit, and I think that’s what makes us so strong in the back,” Duffhuis said. “If one of those pieces would be missing, it wouldn’t be as strong of a unit as we are today.”

Sunday will be the first time since 2022 — and the second time in program history — that St. Joe’s has made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Regardless of opponent, Prince is more concerned with the team with which she is going into the game than the one the Hawks will be facing.

“We’ll obviously do our scout report as always, and get the girls as prepared as possible, but I just think that, you know, we focus on us, and that we play our game,” Prince said. “What’s most important is just us being together, having that mentality, we’re team first, and we just go after whoever our next opponent is.”