How to watch, preview and prediction for the 2025 DII field hockey championship

And then there were two. The 2025 DII field hockey national championship match is set. Newberry, a relative newcomer to the big stage amid a historic season, will take on one of the sport's all-time great programs in Shippensburg, a team that has won four of the last eight national championships. It is a matchup of polar opposites, one that pits tournament experience against a program full of awe and determination to add the now one thing missing from their program history. 

Here's what you need to know.

🏑 Updates, scores and bracket from every round of the DII field hockey championship

The DII field hockey championship: How to watch

It's no big surprise that both of these teams are here. Undefeated, No. 1 Newberry will face off against No. 3 Shippensburg at Steph Pettit Stadium in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 23. You can stream the game live right here on krikya18.com. 

Shippensburg vs. Newberry: By the numbers

Way back on Sept. 23, Newberry was one of three teams selected that could potentially win its first national championship in 2025. Here we are, and exactly two months later, the Wolves are indeed playing for their first title, rolling into Bloomsburg on a 20-game winning streak. It has been an impressive run; the Wolves have the top-scoring offense in DII field hockey by a wide margin, averaging 5.15 goals per game (the next closest is Kutztown at 4.77). However, they are not simply scoring a lot, but are limiting their opponents as well, winning games by a DII-best 4.54 goals per game behind a defense that allows just 0.65 goals per game. That's exactly what we've seen in the tournament, as Newberry bounced Bentley by a score of 4-1 and then West Chester, 3-0. The Wolves have a trio of goal-scoring machines in the top 10 of DII field hockey in scoring in Emma Westbrook (23), SAC offensive player of the year, Parker Keeler (19) and Wibien Dahmen (16). Keeler's twin sister Payton also chips, totaling 12 goals. 

This will be a good chess match, because Shippensburg had one of the best defenses in DII. The Raiders allowed a stingy 0.77 goals per game and goalkeeper Emma Albee helped Shippensburg lead DII with a 0.833 save percentage. The Raiders just held Kutztown, the second-best scoring team in DII, to one goal in a 3-1 semifinals victory after shutting out defending national champs Saint Anselm, 3-0, in the first round. Shippensburg lacks the depth of explosive scorers that Newberry has, but the Raiders have very capable players who put the ball in the net; Lilly Cantabene led the team with 10 goals, Kelly Naudé has nine and both McKenna Boyle and Elaina Fragassi have eight. Now, while Shippensburg has plenty of championship experience with five national titles since 2013, this team is very different from those champions. Head coach Rayell Wallace is in her first year and looking to add her name to the Shippensburg lore alongside legendary coaches Bertie Landes and Tara Zollinger.

2025 DII field hockey championship prediction

Here's what we know about DII field hockey. It has long been a PSAC party, with 20 of the last 24 national champions hailing from the conference. However, last year I went out on a limb and predicted we would have a first-time national champion outside the PSAC in Saint Anselm (which turned out to be correct, with the victory over defending national champion Kutztown) — and I am going to do the same this year.

We were able to see something special in the Wolves way back in the early going when I said they could be a first-time national champion. They are absolutely pummeling the opposition, having won by three or more goals in all 10 games since its 3-2 victory over Lander on Oct. 11. The Wolves are also 3-0 in Pennsylvania this year, having shut out West Chester twice and beating Mansfield once. You don't often see a DII field hockey with as many potent goal scorers as Newberry, so even with Shippensburg's elite defense — which again, shut down the second-best scoring team in DII in the semis — it seems like there will just be too much firepower to contain. Combined with their elite stick handling and suffocating defense spearheaded by keeper Ayanda Mangenah, this seems like Newberry's year to bring the first-ever DII field hockey championship to the SAC.

Prediction: Newberry 4, Shippensburg 2