PROVIDENCE, R.I.- The Dean College Field hockey team enjoyed a historic 2024 season, reaching the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs for the first time in program history, but the run ended on Saturday with a 3-0 GNAC quarterfinal loss to the top seeded Johnson & Wales University Wildcats. Dean ends it season 8-12 with a 5-7 record in GNAC play.

The Bulldogs battled throughout the game, proving much stingier on defense than in the previous meeting with the Wildcats, when JWU won 7-0. The Bulldogs held the hosts scoreless throughout the first half, propelled by eight saves from first-year goalkeeper Sara Gardner (Hampstead, Md.). JWU outshot the Bulldogs 14-1 in the first half and held a 7-4 advantage in penalty corners, but could not break through the stalemate. 

In the second half, the Wildcats found their groove. With under a minute to play in the third quarter and the score still knotted at zero, Johnson & Wales' Megan Salshina took over the game, scoring three goals in the span of five minutes, her 13th, 14th, and 15trh goals of the season, to give the Wildcats the decisive advantage.  

First-year Emily Yazzetti (Mahopac, N.Y.) registered all three of the Bulldogs shots, with two ending up on goal. Gardner finished with ten saves in the full 60 minutes of action. Johnson & Wales held a final advantage of 24-3 in shots and a 16-6 edge in penalty corners. 

With only one senior, Madison Gilbert (Sanbornton, N.H.) set to graduate, the Bulldogs return a talented lineup for the 2025 season as they will look to build upon the success from the 2024 campaign.