GAME NOTES: Women's Lax Plays Regular-Season Finale at UVM [April 25]

UNH (6-9 overall, 2-3 America East) at Vermont (10-6 overall, 3-2 America East)
Saturday, April 25 | Virtue Field | Burlington, Vt.
Video | UNH Game Notes | UVM Game Notes

THE GAME
   The UNH women's lacrosse team plays its 2015 regular-season finale April 25 at the University of Vermont. Game time at Virtue Field is 1 p.m.

WHAT'S AT STAKE
   This is, for all intents and purposes, a play-in game to the America East Championship tournament. The winner earns the last berth to the conference tourney, whereas the season ends for the other team.

DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
   This is the fourth time in five years the UNH Wildcats are in this scenario – in the last America East game, the winner advances to the conference tournament and the other team does not. All four games have been on the road.
   New Hampshire was a 12-10 victor at Binghamton in 2011 and prevailed 6-5 at UMBC on a last-minute goal by Kayleigh Hinkle in 2013 to advance to postseason play both times. UNH did not make the playoffs in 2012 following a 12-10 loss at Stony Brook.

VOTE FOR McHOUL: #AEWLAX FANS' CHOICE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Laura McHoul is one of seven candidates for the 2015 America East Women's Lacrosse Fans' Choice Player of the Year award. Votingis underway and continues through April 28 at 12:30 p.m. Fans are allowed to vote once per day. CLICK HERE to vote for McHoul.

THE MATCHUP
   New Hampshire has a 29-7 lifetime record against Vermont but the Catamounts have won four straight – three of which have been at UNH, including last year's 15-12 victory.   In the most recent meeting at UVM, the Catamounts were 18-8 victors in March 2012. The Wildcats have a 12-3 road record in this series and last won in Burlington in May 2010 (18-10). Prior to Vermont's recent success, UNH had won three straight as part of a 16-1 record spanning the 1997-2010 seasons.
   In last year's matchup, UVM built a 9-2 lead 16 minutes into the game but the Wildcats closed the half on a 4-1 run to pull within 10-6. UNH scored the first two goals of the second half and trailed 12-10 with 13 minutes remaining. Vermont inched further away with a goal at 3:11, then secured the win by scoring 29 seconds apart – with 1:14 and 45 seconds to play. New Hampshire scored twice in the last 30 seconds to advance the final score to 15-12.
   UNH recorded the edge in shots (33-27) and ground balls (14-9), whereas UVM had the advantage in draw controls (16-13) while committing fewer turnovers (11-13) and recording more saves (12-8).

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
   UNH has a 6-9 overall record that includes 2-3 in America East as well as 3-5 on the road – 1-1 in conference road games. The Wildcats saw a two-game win streak end April 18 with a 20-7 loss to fourth-ranked Boston College at Cowell Stadium.
   New Hampshire is 3-2 in April with wins against UMass Lowell, Binghamton and Boston University.
   UNH is averaging 9.13 goals per game while allowing 11.47 per game. The Wildcats have scored in double digits five times with a high of 22 (April 1 at UMass Lowell) and have held the opposition to single figures in five games.
   The stat comparison vs. the opposition is nearly even in shots (344-355), ground balls (189-199) and turnovers (188-194). The 'Cats have the slight edge in draw controls (174-166).

TOP 'CAT
   Junior attacker Laura McHoul became the UNH record holder for career assists with No. 102 – the last of her three assists April 18 against fourth-ranked Boston College. She became just the second Wildcat to reach the 100 assist milestone late in the first half, tied the previous benchmark of 101 established by Karen Geromini with 9:32 left in the game, and then moved to the top of the list with another assist less than two minutes later on a goal by Krissy Schafer at 7:40.

'CAT NIPS
   Junior attacker Laura McHoul extended her point streak to six games with a one-goal, three-assist effort last Saturday against fourth-ranked Boston College. She has tallied multiple points all six games with totals of 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points (4.50 points per game).
   Senior attack Kayleigh Hinkle finished with three points (two goals, one assist) against BC. She is the only Wildcat to record a point every game this season.
   Senior midfielder Rachael Nock tallied an assist vs. Boston College and boasts the Wildcats' second-longest active point streak of eight games with 7-10-17 in that span.
   Freshman attacker Krissy Schafer recorded her second career multiple-goal game with two against BC.

SALUTING THE SENIORS
   UNH's group of six seniors were honored in a post-game ceremony April 18 – the last home game for the sextet.
   Becca Graves has scored nine goals and tallied an assist for a total of 10 points as an attacker for the Wildcats this season. She has played a utility role on attack throughout her career, providing a spark on the field with her ability to get to the cage. Becca is a two-year member of the Chi Alpha Sigma athlete honor society and has been named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll each of her first three years, in addition to being a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
   A senior attacker, Kayleigh Hinkle has recorded a point in every game and leads the team in draw controls this season. In 65 career games, Kayleigh has amassed 82 goals and 67 assists for 149 points. She is currently sixth on the program's all-time assist list. Kayleigh's collegiate accolades include two-time America East Women's Lacrosse All-Academic Team, America East Commissioner's Honor Roll, America East Academic Honor Roll and Chi Alpha Sigma athlete student honor society.
   Emma Kriss has started every game this year as a senior defender. After transferring to UNH before her sophomore year, she contributed as an attacker for two years before willingly making the switch to defense for the 2015 season. Her unwavering enthusiasm and work ethic has provided energy on the field, and her selflessness as a teammate is unmatched. Emma was named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll and Academic Honor Roll.
   Senior captain Brooke McGillis contributed in the midfield for her first three years as a Wildcat before taking a leadership role on the defensive end this season. She has started every game this year and ranks second on the team in both ground balls and caused turnovers. In 65 career games, she has amassed 80 ground balls and 34 caused turnovers. Her tireless work ethic and dedication to improvement over her career provided a valued example for the team to follow.
   Senior captain Rachael Nock has been a force in the midfield this season. She ranks third on the team in both assists and points, and tied for third in caused turnovers. In 65 career games, she has compiled 71 points on 43 goals and 28 assists. Always leading by example, she has tallied four game-winning goals this season, including the overtime winner against Boston University. Rachael has been named to the America East Academic Honor Roll each of her first three years.
   Senior captain Laura Puccia is one of the top goal scorers in program history. Her 127 career goals rank eighth on UNH's all-time leaderboard, in addition to 16 assists for a total of 143 career points. Laura was named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll in 2014 and is a two-time selection to both the America East All-Academic Team and All-Conference Second Team. She has been named to the conference's Commissioner's Honor Roll three times and is a two-year member of the Chi Alpha Sigma athlete honor society.

MILESTONE WATCH
   Junior attacker Laura McHoul is ninth on UNH's all-time points list with 164. Ahead of her is Pauline Collins (178).
   On UNH's single-season assist leaderboard, McHoul's 30 assists is tied at No. 5 with Katie Leland. Ahead of them on the list are No. 4 Laurie Leary (32 in 1984), No. 3 McHoul (33 in 2013), No. 2 Karen Geromini (35 in 1986) and No. 1 McHoul (39 in 2014).
   Senior attack Kayleigh Hinkle is approaching 150 career points. She enters the weekend with 149 points on 82 goals and 67 assists. Hinkle is currently tied at No. 5 on UNH's career assist list with Liz Brickley. No. 4 is Shaunna Kaplan at 79.
   Senior midfielder Laura Puccia is also approaching 150 career points with 143. She has amassed 127 goals and 16 assists. Puccia is No. 8 on the program's goals leaderboard; No. 7 is Karen Geromini at 134.
   Junior attack Nicole Grote and senior midfielder Rachael Nock are approaching 50 career goals. Grote currently has 46 goals while Nock's total stands at 43.

CAREER LEADERBOARD
   Laura McHoul entered the top 10 career points list and climbed to No. 9 during her six-point effort vs. Binghamton on April 10. She moved into a tie with Colleen Christopher (152 points) and then Nicole Rhodes (153) by scoring goals 1 minute, 55 seconds apart in the second half; McHoul then took sole possession of No. 9 with an assist. McHoul enters Saturday's game at UVM still at No. 9, 14 points from tying Pauline Collins.
   One week ago, McHoul was in a four-way tie at No. 7 on the single-season assist list with 27. One game later, three assists vaulted her past one mark set by Katie Leland (29 in 2006) and tied Leland's No. 5 total of 30 established in 2004.
   Kayleigh Hinkle is currently tied for fifth on UNH's all-time assist leaderboard with Liz Brickley at 67 assists.
   Senior midfielder Laura Puccia is currently No. 8 at 127 career goals and No. 7 is Karen Geromini at 134.

ON THE ATTACK
   Senior attack Kayleigh Hinkle is the only Wildcat who has recorded a point all 15 games, and she opened the season with a goal each of the first eight games and has scored a goal each of the last six. Hinkle has 32 goals and 15 assists for 47 points (3.13 points per game); both the goals and point totals are personal single-season highs. She scored a career-high five goals and season-high six points vs. Binghamton (April 10). Hinkle tallied a season-high three assists April 1 at UMass Lowell and also scored two goals that game. Hinkle has 12 multiple-point games with nine multiple-goal efforts and multiple assists four times.
   Junior attack Laura McHoul is almost an equal finisher and distributor with 25 goals and 30 assists, and senior midfielder Rachael Nock has nearly an even split with 12 goals and 15 assists. Conversely, senior midfielder Laura Puccia has recorded 22 points, all on goals.
   McHoul was held off the score sheet March 21 by nationally-ranked Stony Brook to end a 12-game point streak; she tallied 17-25-42 (3.50 points per game) in that span. McHoul returned to the points column March 28 at nationally-ranked Albany with a team-high two assists and she has 27 points (10g, 17a) during her current six-game point streak. McHoul has 12 multiple-point efforts, seven multiple-goal performances and multiple assists eight times. McHoul recorded season highs in both assists (five) and points (six) at Holy Cross; she matched her career high of four goals against both Drexel University (March 8) and Binghamton (April 10).
   Nock has tallied a point in eight straight games (7g, 10a in that span), 10 of the last 11 and in 13 of 15 overall. She recorded a career-high three assists and also scored a goal for a season-high four points March 17 at Colorado; Nock also notched two caused turnovers, one ground ball and one draw control vs. CU. She matched those assist and point totals April 1 at UMass Lowell.
   Puccia saw her six-game goal streak (15g in that span) end April 15 against Boston University. She has five multiple-goal games this season, including three of the last six with a career-high seven at UMass Lowell (April 1).
   Junior attack Nicole Grote has recorded a point 12 of 15 games with totals of 13-5-18. She opened the season with four-game goal streak and had another four-game point streak spanning March 8-21. Grote has scored a goal each of the last three games.

NATIONAL NUMBERS
   Laura McHoul enters the weekend ranked No. 12 in the nation in assists (30) and No. 11 in assists per game (2.00).
   On the NCAA active career leaderboards, McHoul is No. 3 in assists per game (2.13), 10th in assists (102) and 21st in points per game (3.42). Also of note, Kayleigh Hinkle is 30th in assists (67) and 31st in assists/game (1.03), while Laura Puccia is 30th in goals (127).

CONFERENCE CALL
   UNH is currently ranked fifth in the America East conference in both offense (9.13 goals per game) and defense (11.39 goals allowed per game). The Wildcats average a league-best 11.60 draw controls per game and they are third in assists/game (4.93).
   On the individual leaderboards, Laura McHoul is seventh in points/game (3.67), third in assists/game (2.00) and ninth in shots/game (4.13). Kayleigh Hinkle is No. 10 in points/game (3.13), No. 6 in goals/game (2.13), No. 7 in assists/game (1.00), No. 3 in draw controls per game (3.20) and No. 7 in shots/game (4.40). Rachael Nock is No. 7 in assists/game (1.00), Kate Clancy is No. 3 in saves per game (6.93) and Hope Kissick is fourth in caused turnovers per game (1.13).

STATS LEADERBOARD
   Laura McHoul leads UNH in assists (30) and points (55); she is second in goals (25), shots (62) and draw controls (21), as well as fifth in caused turnovers.
   Kayleigh Hinkle ranks first in goals (32), shots (66), draw controls (48) and shots on goal percentage (.924); she is also second in points (47) and assists (15) as well as third in ground balls (18).
   Laura Puccia is third in goals (22) and fourth in points (22); she is also third in shots (45) and fourth in draws (14).
   Hope Kissick leads the squad in both ground balls (24) and caused turnovers (17).
   Rachael Nock is tied for second in assists (15) and ranks third in points (27). She is also third in caused turnovers (six).
   Brooke McGillis is second on the leaderboard for ground balls (21) and she is tied for third in caused turnovers (six).

WHAT JUST HAPPENED
   UNH struck first, scored consecutive goals to level the score at 3-3 and netted two of the last three goals of the first half to enter halftime trailing 8-5 against fourth-ranked Boston College. The Eagles pulled away in the second half, however, with 11 straight goals en route to a 20-7 win at Cowell Stadium on April 18.
   BC recorded the edge in shots (34-20), ground balls (19-9) and draw controls (18-10); the turnovers were even at 13.

SEEING DOUBLE
   New Hampshire has scored in double digits five times in 15 games; prior the 22-6 outburst at UMass Lowell on April 1, the season high of 12 was Feb. 18 at Holy Cross.
   The opposition has scored in double digits 9 of 15 games with a high of 20 by #4 Boston College on April 18.

DOUBLING UP
   Laura McHoul, Kayleigh Hinkle and Rachael Nock have reached double figures in both goals and assists; McHoul and Hinkle accomplished the feat for the third consecutive year. McHoul currently has 25 goals and 30 assists while Hinkle is at 32 goals and 15 assists. Nock enters the weekend with 12 goals and 15 assists.

SHOOT TO SCORE
   New Hampshire has scored on 137 of 344 shots for a .398 shooting percentage; in comparison, the opposition has a .485 shooting percentage with 172 goals on 355 shots.

FREE AND CLEAR
   UNH has scored on 23 of 64 free-position shots (35.9%) and that includes 6 of 11 April 1 at UMass Lowell; in comparison, the opposition is 27-for-71 (38.0%). Last week, UNH was 0-for-5 on free position shots and Boston University went 1-for-2, then in the BC game the 'Cats scored on 2 of 3 while the Eagles were 5-for-9.
   The Wildcats excelled on clear attempts a seven-game stretch spanning March 6 to April 1; it started with a perfect 12-for-12 performance at Fairfield and continued two days later at 14 of 15 vs. Drexel; the stretch ended when the 'Cats went 10-for-11 at UMass Lowell. New Hampshire was 75 of 83 (90.4%) during the seven-game stretch.
   Overall, UNH is 136-for-167 on clear attempts (81.4%) and the opposition is 168-for-221 (76.0%).

GREEN IN GOAL
   UNH has two goalkeepers on its roster and both are freshmen. Kate Clancy has started all 14 games this season and has played all but 56:37 of a possible 906 minutes. She is 6-9 with an 11.44 GAA and .391 save percentage. She established a personal best of 12 saves vs. Drexel (March 8) and matched that the next game at Denver (March 15); she was also credited with four ground balls both of those games. Clancy registered her third double-digit save effort with 11 stops in UNH's 12-9 win vs. Binghamton University (April 10).
   Granite State native Sarah Lambert made her collegiate debut March 1 with a 9:35 relief stint at UConn and she played a career-high 30 minutes (then entire second half) April 1 at UMass Lowell with two saves and four goals against. Most recently, she played the final 9:32 vs. No. 4 Boston College and stopped 1 of 2 shots on goal. With four saves and 10 goals allowed, her stats calculate to an 10.60 GAA and .286 save percentage in four games played.

SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
   The University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.) heads into the regular season finale against the Wildcats with a 10-6 overall mark, including 3-3 at home and a 3-2 conference record. After winning five consecutive contests in March, UVM is 2-3 in April with one victory in its last three games.
   In their last time out against UMass Lowell, the Catamounts jumped out to an early lead by scoring six of the game's first seven goals. Vermont took a 12-5 lead into the half and outscored the River Hawks, 11-4, the remainder of the game to secure the 23-9 victory. In the win, the Catamounts outshot UMass Lowell (39-23), picked up the majority of ground balls (13-7), and committed fewer turnovers (7-13).
   UVM ranks second in America East in offense (11.93 goals per game) and fourth in defense (10.20 gpg allowed). The Catamounts are also third in both ground balls (16.20 per game) and draw controls (11.33 per game).
   Senior attacker Jessica Roach leads the team in goals (54), assists (16) and points (70); with those numbers, she ranks second in America East in goals/game and points/game. Roach also leads the team in shots (104) and free-position goals (16).
   Junior midfielder Vanessa VanderZalm is Vermont's leader in draw controls (48) and ground balls (41). She has also caused the most turnovers on the team (35) and ranks second in goals (35) and points (44).
   Senior goalkeeper Meg Hopkins has started all 16 games. On average, she allows 10.29 goals per game, and has saved 41.4% of the 251 shots on goal.

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