The Other Division III Champions: Thomas Break Their Curse, Rhodes Win in Overtime
Everyone knows about Tufts by now. Eighteen wins, no defeats, NESCAC champions for a fourth time. But the Division III weekend had more champions than the Jumbos, and a few of them had to wait a lot longer for their moment.
Thomas finally beat Husson
Start in Maine, because this one meant the most. Thomas University had lost the Central Maine Collegiate Field Hockey Conference title match to Husson by one goal in each of the last three years. Three finals, three one-goal defeats, same opponents. On Sunday they finally broke the curse, beating the Eagles 5-3 for their first CMCFHC crown.
That’s not a fluke scoreline either. Five goals in a final, against the side that has owned them, tells you the Terriers weren’t just hoping it would be different this time. They went out and made it different.
Rhodes needed six minutes of overtime
The Collegiate Field Hockey Conference final was a different kind of drama. Rhodes dominated Sewanee, outshooting them 10-2, and still couldn’t find a way through in regulation. It took six minutes of overtime before Alder Dickey found the winner, and the Lynx are conference champions for the first time since 2023, when they won the SAA title.
Dominating a final and still needing overtime is the kind of thing that either breaks a team or defines it. Rhodes will remember this one as the day they kept knocking until the door opened.
Endicott and Geneseo keep the streaks alive
Endicott are back-to-back Conference of New England champions after a 2-1 overtime win over Roger Williams. That’s the program’s eighth title overall, and the second in a row. They know how to win these games now, and it shows.
SUNY Geneseo made it a three-peat in the Empire 8, beating Hartwick 2-0 in Saturday’s final. The Chargers finished 16-3, and they kept a perfect record against conference opponents all season. A shutout in a final is the cleanest way to finish a job like that.
The bracket is set
Rhodes, Endicott and Geneseo go into the NCAA Division III bracket, which was drawn on Sunday night. Twenty-eight teams, twelve first-round games on Wednesday, and byes for Tufts, Middlebury, Christopher Newport and Bowdoin. Rhodes open against Rowan, the first game of the whole tournament on Wednesday night. Geneseo face Wesleyan. Endicott are in against Amherst. Thomas didn’t make the 28-team field, so the Terriers’ season ends with their first conference crown.
The bigger names will get the attention this week, and fair enough. But Thomas, Rhodes, Endicott and Geneseo all earned their place the same way, by winning something when it mattered. That’s the whole point of Division III.
