Audino's Two Goals Propels Field Hockey Past Vermont, 4-0

Friday, October 23

Burlington, Vt.

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

(7-8, 3-2)

University of Vermont

(3-13, 1-5)

New Hampshire

VERMONT

10/23/2015 5:41:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Katie Audino (Severn, Md.) scored two goals to propel the University of New Hampshire field hockey team to Friday afternoon's 4-0 victory against the University of Vermont at Moulton Winder Field.

UNH completed the season series sweep of UVM to extend the series win streak against the Catamounts to nine games and improve to 7-8 overall, 3-2 in America East. Vermont is now 3-13, 1-5.

It was the first multiple-goal game for Audino, whose four points also marked a personal best. Lindsey Nerbonne (Bow, N.H.) and Lynne Lehman (Landisburg, Pa.) scored UNH's other goals. A quartet of 'Cats – Gianna Bensaia (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Meg Carroll (Mansfield, Mass.), Emma Compagna (Canton, Mass.) and Ashley Mendonca (Brampton, Ontario) – were credited with assist.

UNH goalkeeper Melissa Rize (Severn, Md.) recorded three saves for her second shutout of the season and her career. UVM counterpart Lena Benwood was credited with 11 saves and Chelsey Cleemoff made a defensive save.

New Hampshire recorded a sizable advantage in both shots (22-10) and penalty corners (9-3).

The Wildcats generated the first pressure by drawing a penalty corner in the ninth minute that produced Nerbonne's shot on goal that was stopped by Benwood. The 'Cats were awarded another corner, however, and this time Mendonca's shot was struck wide of the cage.

Another UNH corner at 11:04 led to another Nerbonne shot that was turned away by Benwood.

The 'Cats took a 1-0 lead at 11:56 when Compagna played the ball toward goal and Audino redirected it into the cage.

Bensaia nearly gave New Hampshire a two-goal advantage just 15 seconds later when her shot beat Benwood, but Cleemoff cleared the ball off the goal line to keep the margin at one goal. The Wildcats continued to generate scoring chances as Lehman shot wide in the 21^st minute and Bensaia was denied by Benwood in the 22^nd minute. One minute later on yet another UNH corner, Benwood made the initial save on Nerbonne's shot and then stopped Meg Flatley (Townsend, Mass.) off the rebound.

Rize made her first save of the game on UVM's shot off the stick of Moly Higgins at 25:03. The Catamounts began to sustain some offensive pressure, but Landon Warren's shot in the 27^th minute was blocked, Aria Robinson's shot in the 29^th minute went wide and Jackie Gillen's bid in the 30^th minute was blocked. That led to a Vermont corner, and Lauren Tucker's shot was stopped by Rize.

Audino scored again with 44 seconds remaining in the first half to extend the advantage to 2-0. Mendonca's long hit from outside the 25 went down the middle of the circle and was redirected by Audino from five yards out.

UNH struck quickly in the second half – just 91 seconds after play resumed – to build a 3-0 lead at 36:31. Carroll played the ball down to the left baseline, where Nerbonne corralled the pass and scored her team-leading ninth goal of the season.

Benwood kept the Catamounts within three goals by making two more saves against Nerbonne in the 39^th and 43^rd minutes.

Lehman corralled Bensaia's entry pass and scored her first goal of the season to give UNH a 4-0 lead at 48:13.

Rize made her best save of the game with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, when she dove to her left to deflect away Anne-Marie Farmer's shot through traffic from 12 feet.

UVM had an untimed corner at the end of the game, but Mendonca preserved the shutout when she blocked Lauren Tucker's direct shot from the top of the circle.

New Hampshire returns to action Oct. 25 at home against 10^th-ranked University at Albany. Game time at Memorial Field is 1 p.m.