A couple hours after Boylston’s Lindsey Brown and her Northwestern University field hockey team beat Princeton to capture the NCAA Division 1 championship, she saw the text on her phone from good friend Hannah Murray of Worcester.“We’re both national champions!” exclaimed the message.Earlier in the day, Murray’s Tufts University team defeated Johns Hopkins to win the NCAA Division 3 title.“Yes! Let’s go!” Brown replied.“It’s so cool,” Brown, an Algonquin Regional graduate and Northwestern freshman, said in a phone interview from campus while taking a short break from final exams and still reveling in the double feat.The championship was the second straight for the Wildcats and third in the last five years.Tufts claimed its second title in program history.Murray, a sophomore forward, played a major role in helping the Jumbos keep their season alive. In the Sweet 16 round against Williams, she scored with 2:48 left to send the game to overtime. Tufts went on to win in double OT.“After we won that game,” Murray, a Doherty High graduate, said in a phone interview from Tufts, “I was like, ‘We’re not losing these next few games.’ It was a different vibe. Everyone was so pumped up.”Murray and Brown grew up playing ice hockey together for the Lady Crusaders and the Lady Flames, and, initially, did not warm to the idea of trying field hockey.Murray was in seventh grade when she joined her older sister, Elle, and Worcester Field Hockey.“I remember being dragged there,” Murray recalled with a laugh. “I hated field hockey at first. I was an ice hockey girl.”When Brown reached middle school at Tahanto Regional, which doesn’t have an ice hockey program, her mom suggested she go out for field hockey so she could play a sport for her school.“I almost quit after the second week,” Brown said, “but as the season went along, I said, ‘Wait. I’m OK at this.’”Murray and Brown eventually became Worcester-based Cape Ann Field Hockey Club teammates.“For a little while, both of us were like, ‘Ice hockey is better. Ice hockey is better,’” Brown said, “but when we both hit high school, we were both, ‘OK, field hockey is better.’”Over Thanksgiving break, Cape Ann director Chris Pothier threw a party at a Shrewsbury restaurant to recognize Murray’s and Brown’s achievements. They wore their “NCAA Champions” hats and brought their trophies.In 2024, Murray graduated as Worcester Public Schools’ all-time leader in goals (129) and assists (49). Brown finished her Algonquin Regional career with 90 points to rank second on the Titans’ all-time list.Both were T&G Super Team honorees.Brown, who was part of two USA Field Hockey U18 National Teams, redshirted this season.“A couple weeks into the season I had a session with my coaches,” Brown said, “and they thought it would be beneficial to redshirt this season and get a full year of training under my belt. Our team is so experienced that it’s hard for a freshman to play here. I’ll have a graduate year, so I thought that sounded great.”Brown wasn’t on the field, but she was still very much part of the team and its successes.“With our team and our culture, even if you’re redshirting or not playing, you’re just as involved as a starter who plays 60 minutes,” Brown said. “Everyone is working toward the same goal. It’s awesome.”Northwestern beat top-ranked North Carolina in the national semifinals and avenged its only loss of the year with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Princeton in the final.Brown’s parents, Scott and Karen, were in Durham, North Carolina, to cheer on the Wildcats.“It was surreal when we won,” Brown said. “We had such a great season and then an interesting playoff run. When we won in the final there were so many tears of joy – ‘We did it!’ It’s our hard work that’s been going on behind the scenes for months. We definitely earned it.”Murray played in just eight games last season, when Tufts advanced to the national final but fell to Middlebury.This year, Murray overcame a preseason ankle sprain to play in 22 games, score 7 goals and add 3 assists.“It was different this year being in the Final Four as a sophomore,” Murray said, “being on the field and making more of an impact.”Murray spent most of last summer in Hampton, New Hampshire, working and training with Elle, and playing in a field hockey league at Harvard University.As a senior this year at Assumption, Elle helped the Greyhounds reach the NCAA Division 2 quarterfinals and earned All-Northeast-10 Conference and NFHCA regional honors.Hannah and Elle were two-year field hockey and softball teammates at Doherty.“After last year, I knew what I had to do (to get ready for this season),” Murray said, “and I knew I had the tools to get me there. My sister is always pushing me. It’s good to have her.”Murray’s parents, Kevin and Colleen, Elle and some of her Assumption teammates and their coach Annie Lahey were among a large Murray family-and-friends contingent cheering on Tufts in its 2-1 OT title game win over Johns Hopkins in Hartford.  Murray and Brown being members of national championship teams further highlights a remarkable fall season and surge for Central Massachusetts field hockey.Uxbridge High recently became just the second field hockey program in state history to win five straight state championships. The Spartans have eight Division 1 college commits on their roster.“It’s awesome to see field hockey picking up steam in Central Mass.,” Brown said, “and so many breakthrough stories like Hannah at Tufts, and the Uxbridge girls and me at Northwestern. It’s showing little girls that we’re starting to pave our way. It’s really inspiring for younger generations to see.”–Contact Jennifer Toland at jennifer.toland@telegram.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @JenTolandTG.This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Boylston’s Brown and Worcester’s Murray return home with pair of NCAA field hockey championships