Montclair, NJ- Trying to cap off an already historic inaugural season, the Montclair State University women's flag football team seeks to become the first ever ECAC Women's Flag Football Champions on Sunday.
 
TORUNAMENT INFO
As the top seed in the ECAC Tournament, the Red Hawks face off in the semifinals against fourth-seeded Franciscan at 10:00 a.m. With a win, they would advance to the championship game at 2:00 p.m. against the winner of second-seeded Marymount and third-seeded Eastern. The tournament is being held at the New York Jets practice facility in Florham Park, NJ. Live coverage of the game can be found at montclairathletics.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Montclair wrapped up the regular season with a dominant win of 30-7 against St. Joseph's-Brooklyn on Wednesday night. The Red Hawks started with possession and put together a solid 11-play, 64-yard drive. HADDIYAH BELL showed off her arms and legs on the opening drive, breaking off runs of 11 and 12 yards and connecting with SERENITY MUHAMMAD and MAYA ANICO for gains of 16 and nine, respectively. The drive did fall short of the endzone at the Brooklyn nine. The Bears' opening drive resulted in a punt, and the Red Hawks took over at the SJB 39-yard line. The ground game paced the drive, and EMILY DEL ROSARIO punched in the first score from five yards out for a 6-0 lead. Both defenses held the others to minimal yards. St. Joseph's only gained one yard on five plays and were forced to punt, but created an interception and a return of 35 yards to the MSU 35. Montclair held strong and took over from their own 34. They drove the ball to the Bears' 14, where on fourth and goal, Bell fired a ball to the back of the endzone for a completion and a score, making the game 12-0 before half. St. Joseph's took the ball at the beginning of the third quarter, but punted after eight plays. GENEVIEVE FARA carried the ball on the first play from scrimmage of the second half for Montclair, weaved through defenders, and broke away for a 44-yard score, which pushed the lead to 18-0. Montclair had one more drive in the third quarter result in a score. Bell took a shot down the field to Muhammad and connected for a 37-yard touchdown that was called back due to a flag-guarding penalty, and put the ball on the SJB 12. Bell used her legs to score on the next play and took a 24-0 lead. The Bears did not get shut out with a score on the next drive. On fourth and two from their own 18, they took a shot over the middle of the field. The completion was made around midfield, and the receiver broke through a few Red Hawks defenders on her way to a 62-yard score, the biggest play given up by this stout Montclair defense all season. They converted the extra point to make the score 24-7. The Red Hawks finished the scoring on the evening during a 10-play, 66-yard drive. Fara once again made an electric run. She took the handoff and hit the edge and outraced defenders for a 27-yard score and stamped a 30-7 win under the lights.
 
MONTCLAIR (11-1): 2026 Statistics
 
FRANCISCAN (10-2)
 
MARYMOUNT (21-3): 2026 Statistics
 
EASTERN (21-3): 2026 Statistics
 
SCOUTING FRANCISCAN
The Barons entered the ECAC playoffs as the fourth seed in the tournament. They earned a spot directly into the quarterfinals, where they faced off with eighth-seeded Mount Saint Mary and emerged victorious with a 25-12 win. In their inaugural season in 2025, the Barons went 6-1.
 
SCOUTING MARYMOUNT
The Saints entered the ECAC Tournament as the second seed just behind Montclair with a 10-2 conference record, but a 21-3 overall record. They are coming off winning the Atlantic East Championship for the third-straight season with a win over Eastern, 12-7. Last season, they were undefeated with a perfect 15-0 record and rolled to wins of 35-0 against Immaculata and 12-0 against Eastern to win the AEC title.
 
SCOTING EASTERN
 
The Eagles came into the ECAC Playoffs as the third-seeded team and earned a spot in the quarterfinals. They faced off with seventh-seeded Saint Joseph and cruised to a 31-7 win. Eastern boasts a 10-2 ECAC record and a 21-3 overall record. They will look to get revenge on a Marymount team that defeated them in the Atlantic East Championship, 12-7, last weekend. In 2025, during their inaugural season, the Eagles burst onto the scene with a 14-4 record and went 9-3 in AEC play. They defeated Centenary, 33-0, to advance to the finals, but fell 12-0 to Marymount.
 
SERIES HISTORIES
This will be the first time Montclair faces off with Franciscan, and it would be the first time they play Marymount, should they meet in the championship game. The Red Hawks and the Eagles played each other twice this season and took a game each.
 
UP NEXT
Montclair, with its competition in the ECAC Playoffs, would conclude its inaugural season.