Saturday's title game between Middlebury and Bowdoin put on the field what many familiar with the Div. III field hockey scene have known for years: It doesn't get any better than the NESCAC.
The title game, the first in the tournament's history played between two teams from the same conference, solidified the NESCAC's reputation as the strongest field hockey conference in Div. III.
"When you have two teams from a conference playing for the national championship, there's no denying it's the best," Bowdoin coach Nicky Pearson said. "My hope is that this will open a few people's eyes to the strength of our conference from top to bottom and show what it takes to succeed here."
The NESCAC was the only conference in the country to send three teams to the 24-team tournament. Bowdoin took the automatic bid with its third straight league title, and No. 15 Tufts joined No. 10 Middlebury as at-large bids. Last year, Williams and Middlebury earned at-large bids, giving the NESCAC the strongest two-year presence in the championship field.
"It just shows how strong our conference is," Middlebury senior co-captain Reid Berrien said. "I was so happy when Tufts got a bid this and last year, it was Williams. Continuously, we're getting multiple teams in there and it shows what it takes to compete every week in our conference."
As the NESCAC raised its national profile and validated the two at-large bids it was given, the New England region also stole a point from the Mid-Atlantic, which has dominated the Div. III national tournament since its inception in 1981.
Through the turn of the century, the dynastic nature of the sport was firmly centered in the Mid-Atlantic, at least when it came time to dole out postseason hardware. From 1981 to 1997, seven teams split 17 championships - and all hailed from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Maryland.
The first New England team to make it to the title game was Middlebury in 1998, and the Panthers came away with the crown. In 1999, Amherst advanced to the title game before falling 4-1 to The College of New Jersey.
Middlebury made it back to the title game in 2003 and 2004 and took one-goal losses in quarterfinals in 2005 and 2006. Bowdoin kept the New England presence going though, appearing in the Final Four in both years before the pair met in Saturday's title game.
"With three New England teams in the final eight and Tufts having a very close game with Salisbury [in the round of 16], I would hope that it raised the profile of New England field hockey," Pearson said. "It's a great area of the country to play field hockey."
