The Northampton field hockey team started their 2026 campaign with a 3-2 win against Easton on the Rovers’ home turf, so the K-Kids had to feel confident in their ability to pull an upset in the quarterfinal round of the EPC playoffs Saturday morning.

For a half, that confidence was justified. Northampton had the better of the possession, outshot Easton 5 to 2, and drew more corners by a 6 to 2 margin.

The Rovers tallied the initial score halfway through the first period by converting on their first corner and shot of the game. The K-Kids equalized six minutes into the second quarter on a perfectly executed corner of their own. They transitioned the ball from right to left, leaving Paige Hamilton wide open on the far side of the cage to knock in a rebound to tie the game at one.

Things fell apart quickly for Northampton early in the second half. Easton scored twice in 50 seconds, at 9:15 and 8:28 of the third period, at the K-Kids were never really able to recover. The Rovers added a fourth goal on a penalty stroke in the last period to put a cap on a 4-1 final score and advance to the semifinals to take on Parkland.

“That was a tale of two halves,” lamented head coach Carrie Saul. “They made good on their opportunities and we didn’t make good on ours. It’s unfortunate because this was a winnable game. When we have those opportunities, we need to finish because you don’t know when the next one is coming.”

All season, the K-Kids have battled low numbers on the varsity roster which has been compounded by injuries to key players. Star defender Livia Churetta had to be pulled after the third period as she battles through an injury and Hamilton has fought a painful hip injury that has plagued her since track season last Spring.

Even so, the team earned the sixth seed in both the EPC and district tournaments.

Their season will be on the line next Thursday when they travel to Nazareth in the District XI 3A quarterfinals. The K-Kids lost to the Blue Eagles a few weeks ago on Senior Night 3-1, but outplayed Nazareth overall.

Northampton has played either Easton or Nazareth in the district quarterfinals every year since at least 2018.