CARLISLE, Pa. — Lyndsay Cheung (Jr., Irvine, Calif.) scored five times to earn Player of the Game recognition for powering No. 11/No. 5 position/New England Division Champion Northeastern University to a 13-10 upset of No. 2/No. 3 position/Southwest Division Champion the University of California-San Diego in the 2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Third Place game held at the Carlisle YMCA Aquatic Center.
Northeastern – which previously claimed fifth (2024) and seventh (2023) at the National Collegiate Club Championship hosted by Texas A&M University and Colby College the past two seasons – opened up a 4-0 lead in the first quarter as Anna Schlegel (Sr., Pottstown, Pa.) (6:22) and Cheung (5:33, 4:54, 4:00) combined for a scoring spree.
Esther Sullivan (Jr., Fair Oaks, Calif.) swished a response at 3:42 before Marie Ryan (Jr., San Jose, Calif.) returned the Huskies’ lead to four goals by driving home a shot at 3:26.
Trailing 5-1, the Tritons began to climb back into the contest as Elizabeth Hernandez (Jr., Murrieta, Calif.) (2:00) and Camryn Hoppe (Jr., Orange County, Calif.) (1:05, man-up) delivered for UC-San Diego to inch within 5-3 through seven minutes of action.
Northeastern’s lead evaporated midway through the second quarter as Shristi Bandyopadhyay (So., Fremont, Calif.) (6:36, man-up) and Hernandez (4:34) squared the squads at five-all. The tie lasted for under a minute until Cheung (3:38) and Kenza Ashworth (Jr., Palo Alto, Calif.) (1:45, man-up; 1:05, man-up) combined for a three-score surge to stake Northeastern to an 8-5 lead in the closing minutes of the first half. Hernandez chipped a goal off the Tritons’ deficit prior to the termination of the first half as the junior cashed in a man-up opportunity with 28 seconds left in the second quarter to close the score to 8-6 entering intermission.
Adeline Hanson (So., Sonora, Calif.) (4:55), Cheung (4:41, penalty shot) and Ashworth (3:05) began to put the game out of UC-San Diego’s reach as the Huskies’ trio commenced the third quarter with a three score surge in widening the gap to 11-6.
Bandyopadhyay (2:48) and Hernandez (1:24, penalty shot) sandwiched a power-play strike by Hanson (2:23) to move the Tritons back to within four at 12-8 before Ashworth brought the curtain down on the frame with a man-up marker (18 seconds) to provide Northeastern a comfortable 13-8 margin heading into the fourth quarter.
The Tritons attempted to rally back in the span of the final seven minutes as Hernandez (5:55) and Emma Amakasu (Jr., Irvine, Calif.) (5:13) trimmed UC-San Diego’s final margin of defeat down to 13-10.
Cheung (five), Ashworth (four), Hanson (two), Schlegel and Ryan combined for Northeastern’s 13 goals to support a three save performance by netminder Kathleen McClatchie (Jr., Los Altos, Calif.).
UC-San Diego – which holds prior third (2022, 2024) and fifth (2018) place marks at the National Collegiate Club Championship – received five goals by Hernandez to accompany tallies by Bandyopadhyay (two), Amakasu, Sullivan and Hoppe. Story Waxman (Sr., Santa Monica, Calif.) (six) and Brynna Moore (Sr., San Diego, Calif.) (two) combined to post eight stops in cage.
University of California-San Diego head coach Macey Kadifa
University of California-San Diego’s Shristi Bandyopadhyay (#11)
Northeastern University’s Kenza Ashworth (#10)
2026 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship Third Place – Northeastern University
