Marymount Wins Thrilling Inaugural ECAC Women's Flag Football Championship
On a blustery day in Florham Park, New Jersey, the top-seeded Marymount Saints (VA) captured the inaugural ECAC Women's Flag Football Championship. The Saints took home "The Betty" trophy in an offensive shootout after defeating the fourth-seeded Franciscan Barons (OH), 37-26. Jesenia Velez accounted for six touchdowns in an MVP performance. Velez had two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, and two receiving touchdowns in an outstanding performance.
In contrast to the more defensive semifinal matchups, the offenses came to play in the championship game. The Saints drove down the field on the first possession and capped the drive with Jesenia Velez finding Kaylah Barr for a 20-yard score. Franciscan responded immediately with Annie Seida finding Mara O'Leary from 12 yards out to tie the game at 6.
On the next drive, Marymount saw Velez run a slant route, found herself open, and then avoided three flag pulls to take it to the house from 66 yards out. The Saints missed the extra point, but held a 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. Franciscan responded once again with a scoring drive, with Kylie Panizza having two big catches that led to Seida running the ball in from five yards out. O'Leary caught the extra point to give the Barons a 13-12 lead early in the second quarter.
Marymount came back with another score, led by Velez. She made an elusive juke towards the sideline to evade multiple defenders and outsprinted the defense to the end zone. Her 50-yard scamper gave Marymount the 18-13 lead. For the first time, Franciscan didn't respond with a score on offense. Marymount would add a fourth score before halftime when Velez ran the ball in from five yards out. The extra point pass fell incomplete, giving the Saints a 24-13 halftime lead.
Franciscan started the second half trailing by double digits and scored a much-needed touchdown. Seida ran the ball in from five yards out for her second rushing touchdown to cut the deficit to 24-19. Marymount's ensuing drive saw Velez use her arm to hit Yariliz Torres with a big gain. That set up Velez finding fellow quarterback Cara Vollmer on a 10-yard pass in the back of the end zone to restore the two-score lead at 31-19.
The Barons' next drive saw a big pass play from Seida to Sarah Mitchell to get over midfield. Franciscan meticulously moved towards the end zone, trailing 12 points. Seida found Panizza for a second touchdown connection in the game from 3 yards out to make it a 31-26 game early in the fourth quarter.
As with every Franciscan score, Marymount had an answer, and it came in the form of Velez. Velez was at quarterback, took the snap, pump faked, but decided to take off with the ball. She juked two defenders into each other and waltzed into the end zone for her third rushing score of the game. Marymount held a 37-26 lead with over 7 minutes remaining, but the Barons showed no quit. Seida hit two big pass plays to put Franciscan in the red zone. The Marymount defense made its second defensive stand of the game, which would be enough to seal the 37-26 victory.
The blustery conditions on Sunday played a big factor in how the two semifinals unfolded. Franciscan used a strong defensive performance in the first semifinal to oust top-seeded Montclair State (NJ). The Barons scored in the second quarter to break the 0-0 deadlock and added an 80-yard punt return midway through the third quarter to make it a 13-0 game. Montclair State had two goal-to-go chances in the fourth quarter, but the Franciscan defense rose to the challenge to complete the 13-0 shutout.
The second semifinal featured a rematch of the NCAA Division III Atlantic East Conference Championship Game. In that matchup, the Marymount Saints took a 12-0 lead and held on to defeat the Eastern Eagles (PA) 12-7 to win a second consecutive title. This semifinal matchup unfolded identically.
Marymount had a chance to score midway through the second quarter, but Eastern's Dominique Geiger knocked the ball out of the receiver's hands to keep the game scoreless. The game was tied at 0 going into the break, but there were plenty of big plays in the second half.
Marymount had a strong start to the second half, using Velez's running ability to advance the ball. On third and goal, Eastern dropped a pick, but Velez made them pay with a 7-yard run to break the deadlock. After adding a second score to make it 13-0, Eastern got on the board when Kyla Massenburg evaded two flag pulls down the sideline to reach the end zone.
Eastern trailed 13-6 late in the fourth quarter and forced Marymount to punt the ball. The Eagles made some progress, but saw multiple sacks push them back. On fourth and goal from 25 yards out, Kira Green threw a perfect pass over the safety, and Molly Schellpeper made a great catch for the touchdown. Eastern needed the extra point, but Marymount knocked the ball down to preserve the 13-12 victory.
The 2026 tournament was played at the New York Jets' Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. This year's tournament featured an 8-team bracket, with some schools receiving byes and double-byes into later rounds. Top-seeded Montclair State and second-seeded Marymount received byes straight to the semifinals. Franciscan and Eastern received byes to the quarterfinals.
The first round games produced a pair of upsets and plenty of big plays. Eighth-seeded Mount St. Mary's (MD) upset fifth-seeded Wagner (NY) 24-13 in the day's first game. The other first round game saw seventh-seeded Saint Joseph's (PA) upset sixth-seeded Mercyhurst (PA) 19-13 in overtime. The Owls overcame six turnovers during the game and needed a touchdown as time expired in regulation to force overtime. Despite the upsets, both teams fell in the quarterfinals to Franciscan and Eastern, respectively.
ECAC Commissioner Dan Coonan stated during Saturday's broadcast that the conference intended to have all teams compete in a "March Madness-style" tournament for the 2027 season. Coonan said the tournament could be held over three days, from Friday through Sunday, but would consult with the coaches on the scheduling. The larger tournament size will coincide with a larger venue too: next year's championship will move to MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Jets.
The New York Jets and ECAC announced the formation of the multi-divisional conference at the start of December. The Jets and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation committed $1 million to launch the conference, which initially listed 15 participating schools for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Since then, the list has grown to more than 20 teams, including one intending to join as far out as spring 2028.
For the 2026 spring campaign, Allegheny College (PA), Centenary University (NJ), Eastern University (PA), Franciscan University (OH), Kean University (NJ), Long Island University (NY), Marymount University (VA), Mercy University (NY), Mercyhurst University (PA), Montclair State University (NJ), Mount St. Mary's University (MD), Penn State Schuylkill (PA), Sacred Heart University (CT), Saint Joseph's University (PA), and Wagner (NY) competed in the ECAC's first season.
That number is tentatively set to grow to 21 teams for the 2027 spring season. Caldwell University (NJ), Dominican University New York, Fairleigh Dickinson University (NJ), Sweet Briar College (VA), Union College (NY), and Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY) will begin competing in the ECAC. Even beyond 2027, at least one team would like to play in the ECAC: Binghamton University (NY) plans to join in its inaugural season during spring 2028.
Coonan said there will be more announcements about its membership later in May. He didn't divulge any specific details, but said there are several changes they will bundle together for one big announcement.