FRANKLIN, Mass. – The Dean College Field Hockey program has their sights set on a chance at history in the upcoming 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Field Hockey playoffs, where they enter as the conference's defending champions. A chance at repeating their title and earning another berth into the NCAA Division III Field Hockey tournament awaits them if they can survive and advance through three rounds. Dean enters the playoffs as the #7 seed and will visit #2 Lasell University on Saturday morning (10/31) at 11:00 AM, in Newton, Massachusetts.
The Bulldogs posted a 5-4 GNAC record in the 2026 regular season and finished at seventh overall. They concluded conference play last week, where they fell to their eventual playoff matchup, Lasell, 2-1 on Grant Field. This year marks the third consecutive trip to the GNAC playoffs for the program, where they entered as the #8 seed in 2024 and as the regular-season champion #1 seed in 2025. Field Hockey currently has the second-longest active GNAC playoff streak out of all Dean Athletic teams, where they've now tied Men's Basketball at three-straight. Both programs are behind Men's Lacrosse at five-straight appearances dating back to 2022. The team also reached the NCAA Division III Field Hockey Tournament last year as an automatic qualifier from the GNAC, a first for Dean College Athletics since joining the Division III level in 2018.
Junior forward Emily Yazzetti (Mahopac, NY) and senior forward Emily Kilpatrick (Marion, Mass.) established themselves as a dynamic offensive duo throughout the regular season and are currently the top two scorers on the team. Yazzetti enters the field as the reigning GNAC Playoffs MVP, receiving the honors after scoring two goals and an assist in three playoffs games last year. Junior goalkeeper Sara Gardner (Hampstead, MD) has been a standout in net all season-long for the team. Key players making their return to the playoffs include senior defender Keira Houdegbe (West Lebanon, NH), senior midfielder Jordan Boelig (Tilton, NH), junior forward Katrina Lee (Brookline, NH), and junior forward Emma Gragen (Brattleboro, VT). Yazzetti and Boelig were both named to the 2025 GNAC All-Tournament team during last year's championship run. Making their playoff debuts include first-years Jaidyn Seitzer (Nottingham, NH) and Hailey Lamping (Stanfordville, NY). Head coach Megan Gutierrez looks to add a fifth GNAC championship to her trophy case after winning her first as a coach last year, coupled with her previous three titles with St. Joseph's College as a student-athlete.
The team enters the GNAC Playoffs after concluding it's 2026 regular season campaign on Thursday afternoon, where they fell to Springfield College, 5-1 on the road in the non-conference matchup. Dean finished at 12-8 overall in the regular season, and is 3-1 all-time in the GNAC playoffs. More information related to the team's first round matchup against Lasell University on Saturday can be found on deanbulldogs.com.
To learn more about the Dean College Field Hockey program, please visit any of the respective links above.
For Media Inquiries:
Brett Chaves
Sports Information Director, Dean College Athletics
(508) 541-1826
BChaves@dean.edu
