WOODS, RAUSCH SPARK FIELD HOCKEY TO 6-0 WIN AT DAVIDSON

Friday, September 25

6 pm

University of New Hampshire

(5-2)

Davidson

(2-7)

New Hampshire

Davidson

9/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey

Box Score

HAYLEY RAUSCH

DAVIDSON, N.C. – In a battle of Wildcats, both Melyssa Woods (Glens Falls, N.Y.) and Hayley Rausch (Severna Park, Md.) recorded a goal and an assist to spark the University of New Hampshire field hockey team to Friday night's 6-0 non-conference victory against Davidson College at Belk Turf Field.

UNH won its fourth consecutive game to improve to 5-2 overall, while Davidson lost its sixth straight game to fall to 2-7.

UNH quickly built a 3-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the game. Woods, with the assistance of Rausch, opened the game scoring with an unassisted goal – the first tally and points of her career – at 2:27. Meg Shea (Melrose, Mass.) then extended her goal-scoring streak to seven games with an unassisted goal at 4:35. Whitney Frates (Woodstock, Vt.), with Woods' assistance, extended UNH's lead to 3-0 at 9:16

Rausch, with the assistance of Kate Collins Smyth (Parteen, County Claire/Ireland), gave the Blue and White a four-goal lead at 14:30 and the homestanding Wildcats called time out at that time.

New Hampshire converted its only first-half penalty corner into a goal at 25:44 to take a 5-0 lead. Leah Boody (Amesbury, Mass.) initiated the sequence with the push to the top of the circle, where Kara Connolly (Mohegan Lake, N.Y.) executed the stop and Kyle Lyons (White River Junction, Vt.) fired a shot into the cage.

UNH carried that five-goal advantage, as well as an 11-1 edge in shots, into halftime.

Mary Quill (Portsmouth, N.H.) closed the scoring at 53:29 with her first career goal and points. Emily Buda (Simsbury, Conn.) was credited with her first collegiate assist on the play.

UNH goalkeeper Katherine Nagengast (Westborough, Mass.) was not credited with a save in recording her second career shutout. Christa Goeke made seven saves, including four in the first half.

New Hampshire finished the game with a 19-2 shot advantage and a 4-1 edge in corners.

“We played extremely well,” stated 19th-year head coach Robin Balducci. “We stepped up, we stuck to the game plan. Just awesome.

“We controlled the tempo,” added Balducci, who cited the play of Woods in the midfield and Kedall Deck (Bridgewater, N.J.) in the backfield. “Getting the shutout was important, especially with the younger players substituting in the game and maintaining the level of play we had established.”

Woods' tally at 2:27 marked the quickest goal scored by New Hampshire since Aug. 31, 2007, when Sarah Craigue scored 38 seconds into a 3-2 victory against Colgate University.

UNH scored 5+ goals in a half for the first time since Oct. 28, 2006, when the Wildcats scored six first-half goals en route to a 9-1 win at UMBC. The six goals and six-goal margin of victory also date as team highs since that game.

Davidson recorded just two shots, and neither was on goal. The last time an opponent recorded less than five shots was Oct. 16, 2007 (Davidson, three). Earlier this year, UNH held UC Davis without a shot on goal in a 2-0 victory.

New Hampshire returns to action Sept. 27 (1 p.m.) at 12th-ranked Duke University. The Wildcats' next home game is Oct. 3 against interstate rival Maine. Game time at Memorial Field is 1 p.m.