Marissa Cicione and Frances Carstens each had a goal and an assist to lead the No. 18 Stanford field hockey team to a 4-1 win over New Hampshire in the America East Conference championship match at Massachusetts-Lowell on Sunday.

The Cardinal (13-7) successfully defended its conference title and advances into its fourth straight NCAA tournament.

Stanford opened strong and remained engaged throughout the game, turning in one of its best overall efforts of the season. The Cardinal scored four times in its first six shots.

The first strike came off a corner that Katie Keyser set for Carstens, who passed a perfect ball for Corinne Zanolli to finish. Cicione struck next on a breakaway, beating three Wildcat defenders and the goalkeeper for a shot to the back right of the cage.

Stanford refused to leave the Wildcats defensive end in the half as tournament MVP Sarah Helgeson sent a pass across the circle that Carstens put perfectly on frame to make it 3-0.