BIDDEFORD — With zero NCAA tournament experience on the roster, University of New England field hockey players admitted to feeling some nerves heading into Wednesday night’s NCAA Division III field hockey championship first round game against Simmons College.

It showed for the first five minutes. But for the next 65, the Nor’easters reverted back to the dominating form they’ve shown over the past month, and made program history as a result.

Erin Bibber scored on a rebound chance off a corner midway through the first half and Beth Sullivan added a penalty-stroke goal with 15:59 to play as UNE beat Simmons 2-0 in front of a large and loud crowd at the Big Blue Turf.

It was the first NCAA tournament victory in the 12-year history of UNE’s program. The Nor’easters had lost 4-0 to The College of New Jersey in 2010 in their maiden NCAA outing.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Sullivan, a senior defender, said. “It’s the first time that we’ve played in an NCAA game and won, so it’s an exciting experience for all of us.”

UNE (17-6) entered having won eight of its last nine games, including a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory over Endicott last Saturday in the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship game.

Simmons (13-6) came in riding a hot streak of its own, winning nine of its previous 10 games, and had taken the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship on the back of a strong offense that was averaging over three goals per contest.

But the Nor’easters’ defense stifled the Sharks’ attack Wednesday, building a wall in front of goalie Holly Smith as Simmons managed just two shots on goal and was shutout for just the second time all season.

“We just wanted to keep really tight pressure on them to make sure they couldn’t get those shots on goal,” Sullivan said. “It was a good team effort in the defensive circle, stepping up to the ball and backing up the pressure so that we could pick up those loose balls and get them out.”

While UNE eventually went on to dominate, the opening few minutes belonged to Simmons, which earned four penalty corners during an opening three-minute blitz and forced Smith into a nice pad save on the last one on a shot by Robin Powell.

“I think (playing in an NCAA game) distracted us in the beginning. We came in forgetting everything we ever learned about the team we’re playing,” Bibber said. “And after the first five minutes it was like, what are we doing? We know what they’re going to do and we knew what we had to do for our team and we picked it up.”

The Nor’easters certainly did as they began to dominate possession and field position as the half wore on, forcing Simmons goalie Brianna Rastello into a pair of saves on shots by Bibber and Kayla Lambert 15 minutes in.

Lambert’s shot resulted in UNE’s first penalty corner, and the Nor’easters took advantage as the ball was inserted to Sullivan at the top of the circle. Her shot was blocked by the onrushing Sharks defense, but the ball popped to Brooke Marshall on the right for a shot that rang off the right post. The rebound took a fortuitous bounce off the stick of Simmons defender Amy Wilson and redirected right in front to an unmarked Bibber, who didn’t hesitate on a finish into the open cage.

“There was a scramble in front of the goal after the initial corner shot and the rebound came right to my stick,” Bibber said. “I just forced it right back in and it trickled past the goalie right back into the net.”

Rastello was forced into four more saves before the half was over, while Wilson was able to get in the way of a Bibber shot that would have made things 2-0.

Rastello then had to make an additional four stops to keep it a one-goal game to open the second half.

The Sharks had their best chance to tie the game with 16:30 to play on a corner, when the ball was worked to an open Jenna Gagnon at the penalty spot in the middle of the circle. Gagnon’s shot was sent just wide of the right post, however, and 30 seconds of game time later it was 2-0 UNE, as the Nor’easters transitioned up the field and were awarded a penalty stroke when Rastello was judged to have laid on the ball to stop a shot by Vonde Saunders from crossing the goal line.

Sullivan, who won the Endicott game in overtime on a penalty stroke, stepped to the spot and coolly slotted her shot above Rastello’s right shoulder to sew things up.

“I just kind of go where my strongest shot is,” said Sullivan, who has scored four penalty stroke goals on the year. “I don’t really pay attention to the goalie. I just want to get the strongest shot off on goal and just hope it goes in.”

UNE moves on to play at Middlebury in the second round at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Panthers (17-1), the New England Small College Athletic Conference champion, received a bye past the first round.

The two teams have never met previously, but the Nor’easters are 2-5 all-time against NESCAC schools, with both wins coming against Colby. NESCAC teams have won three of the last four national championships, with Middlebury falling in the title game in 2011, the last of its five overall championship-game appearances over the past 15 years.

While the Panthers ”“ currently ranked second in the Division III coaches poll ”“ have the look of a juggernaut, going 12-1 through the NESCAC gauntlet while averaging 5.1 goals a game overall, the Nor’easters, who before Wednesday night had little NCAA history of any kind to speak of, head into the game as a plenty-confident team themselves, one with little to lose and everything to gain.

“It will be a tough game, one of the toughest games we’ll see all year,” UNE coach Danielle Collins said. “But it’s another game for us and we get to continue to play. At this point anything can happen, and if we continue this style of play we can go up and compete with anybody.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.