Staying Home vs. UVM (Oct. 21) and UMass Lowell (Oct. 23)

Vermont (7-8, 0-4 America East) at UNH (4-10, 2-3 America East)
Friday, Oct. 21 • 3 pm • Memorial Field (Durham, N.H.)
Video • Live Stats

UMass Lowell (7-7, 2-2 America East) at UNH (4-10, 2-3 America East)
Sunday, Oct. 23 • 1 pm • Memorial Field (Durham, N.H.)
Video • Live Stats

Mendonca, Rudert Receive America East Weekly Awards: Junior midfielder Ashley Mendonca and sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Rudert were named Player of the Week and co-Defensive Player of the Week by America East on Tuesday.
Mendonca scored all three UNH goals in two road games against nationally-ranked teams last week; she was also credited with a defensive save. The Wildcats trailed 17^th-ranked Albany 1-0 at halftime, but Mendonca led New Hampshire to a 2-1 victory with the game-tying goal at 37:55 and game-winning goal with 1:48 remaining in regulation. Two days earlier at 13^th-ranked Boston College, Mendonca helped keep the game scoreless with a defensive save in the sixth minute and she gave the 'Cats a 1-0 lead at 11:11.
Rudert went 1-1 with a 1.50 GAA and .824 save percentage. She made a career-high nine saves at Albany and that included five in the second half; she held the Great Danes scoreless the final 55:11 of the game. In last Friday's game at BC, Rudert stopped five shots in a 2-1 loss; she held the Eagles scoreless until they scored on an untimed penalty corner at the end of the first half, and she shut them out the final 29:02

UNH vs. Vermont: New Hampshire has a 31-5 lifetime record, including 16-1 at home, against the University of Vermont. The Wildcats prevailed 3-1 at Moulton Winder Field earlier this month. UNH has won each of the last 10 matchups, including five straight at Memorial Field. Prior to this current streak, the Catamounts won three consecutive meetings spanning the 2005-07 seasons; their most recent win was 3-0 in Burlington (2007) and the most recent win in Durham was in 2006 (4-3 in overtime). UVM has not scored more than one goal each of the past five meetings, and just once in UNH's 10-game win streak.
In this year's Battle of the 'Cats, Aggie Sutherland gave UNH an early 1-0 lead at 3:51. Lauren Tucker scored on a penalty corner to tie the score, 1-1, at 23:14. UNH generated the edge in shots (11-4) and corners (5-2) in the first half but could not break the deadlock before halftime. Kayla Sliz put UNH back in front, 2-1, at 44:41 and Lindsey Nerbonne, who set up Sliz's game-winning tally, extended the lead to 3-1 at 57:06. New Hampshire finished with a 28-5 shot advantage (15-1 shots on goal) and 8-3 edge in corners.

UNH vs. UMass Lowell: New Hampshire has a 4-1 lifetime record against UMass Lowell; the River Hawks prevailed 2-1 earlier this month on their home turf. These teams first met in the 2013 season, when the River Hawks became members of the America East conference, and UNH prevailed 5-0 at home. In 2014, the Wildcats were 6-0 road victors. Last year, under the new America East format, the teams played twice during the regular season and both games were decided by one goal – the 'Cats won 2-1 in Durham and 4-3 in overtime in Lowell.
On Oct. 7 at the Wicked Blue Turf, UNH struck first on Lindsey Nerbonne's goal at 5:32. UML's Torrie Huk scored goals seven minutes apart – at 12:31 and 19:36 – to transform the home team's one-goal deficit into a one-goal lead, and that proved to be all the game scoring. The Wildcats recorded a 19-13 shot advantage and 8-5 edge in penalty corners. UNH goalie Kelesy Rudert was credited with seven saves and UML counterpart Evan Berkhout stopped six shots.

State of New Hampshire: UNH, led by 26^th-year head coach Robin Balducci, has a 4-10 overall record that includes 2-4 at home and 1-3 in America East; in conference play, the Wildcats are 0-2 at home. The Wildcats split last week's pair of road games against nationally-ranked teams with a 2-1 loss to 13^th-ranked Boston College and 2-1 win against No. 17 Albany. UNH is averaging 1.71 goals, 15.9 shots and 7.7 corners per game while surrendering 2.79 goals, 14.1 shots and 5.2 corners per game.

Developing the Playoff Picture: With two weekends left in the regular season, UNH sits third in the East Division of the America East conference standings. Albany (4-1), Maine (3-1) and UMass Lowell (2-2) are currently ahead of the 2-3 Wildcats; Vermont (0-4) is at the bottom. New Hampshire would climb into third place with a weekend sweep of UMass Lowell and Vermont; a sweep would secure a berth in the America East tournament, which is being held at University of Pacific.

Close Calls: Each of UNH's last four games have been decided by one goal, and the Wildcats are 1-3 in those games. Also of note, the first four games of the year were all decided by one goal. The Wildcats have a 3-5 record in one-goal games and that includes 2-1 in overtime.

Cornering Skills: All three of New Hampshire's goals last week were scored on a direct shot on penalty corners.

Home Cooking: Three of the last four regular-season games are at home. Following this weekend, Senior Day is the Oct. 30 regular-season finale against intrastate rival Dartmouth College.

Career Highs: Three Wildcats set or tied personal bests last Sunday at Albany. Ashley Mendonca matched her career highs in both goals (two) and points (four). Katie Audino recorded a personal best of two assists, and Gianna Bensaia also tallied two assists to mark her fourth two-assist game of the season.

Top 5 Assist List: Gianna Bensaia has a team-high 12 assists and is on the verge of entering UNH's single-season top 5 assist list. Hayley Rausch (2010) and Cyndi Caldwell (1986) are tied at No. 5 with 13. The duo of Becky Craigue (1998) and Patty Heap (1984) are tied at No. 3 with 15.

Top 10 List: Lindsey Nerbonne enters the weekend tied with Marcie Boyer (1999-2002) and Pauline Collins (1983-86) for No. 9 on the program's career goals leaderboard for goals with 33. Ahead of that trio is Rebecca Provost (1991-94), who scored 40 career goals.

Three Straight: Gianna Bensaia carries a three-game assist streak into the weekend with a total of five helpers in that span.

The Leaderboard: Following last weeks' three-goal, six-point performance, Ashley Mendonca has climbed to the top of the UNH leaderboard in both goals (10) and points (20); she also has a team-best two defensive saves. Lindsey Nerbonne ranks second in both goals (eight) and points (17) with a team-leading 62 shots. Gianna Bensaia is atop the assist leaderboard, followed by Katie Audino (six).

Defending the Cage: Kelsey Rudert has played 98.8% of the minutes in goal this season and is 4-10 with a 2.79 GAA and .639 save percentage; she has been honored as America East Defender of the Week twice this season. Rudert made a season-high nine saves last Sunday at Albany. Her other highlights include eight saves – also against the Great Danes – and four seven-save efforts (including one vs. UMass Lowell).

Scouting the Catamounts: The University of Vermont (Burlington, Vt.) enters Friday's game with a 7-8 overall record that includes 0-4 in America East and 0-5 on the road (0-2 in conference road games). The Catamounts broke their five-game losing streak against University of California with a 3-2 victory last Saturday (in Orono, Maine); one day earlier, UVM was edged 3-2 in overtime at Maine. They average 11 shots per game while allowing 17.9 shots/game. Vermont has 33 goals for the season for an average of 2.20 per game while the opponent averages 3.07 goals/game. Landon Warren leads the team in goals (11) and points (22). Carla Godsman (4g, 5a), Lauren Tucker (3g, 6a) and Anne-Marie Farmer (4g, 2a) have also reached double digits in points. Lena Benwood has started all 15 games in goal; she has a 7-8 record with a 3.06 GAA and .699 save percentage; her 105 saves leads America East.

Scouting the River Hawks: UMass Lowell has a 7-7 overall record that includes 2-2 in America East as well as 2-2 on the road (1-0 in league road games); UML plays at Maine on Oct. 20 before traveling to Durham for Sunday's game vs. New Hampshire. The River Hawks have found success recently, going 4-1 in their last five games, with that one loss coming from #17 Albany. Christa Doiron leads the team in goals and points, with 10 goals and four assists accounting for 24 points. Right behind her are Anouk Lalande and Torrie Huk, both of whom have 23 points; Laland has eight goals and seven assists while Huk's totals are nine goals and five assists. The goalkeepers for the River Hawks – Eva Berkhout and Kelsey Federico – have each played in 10 games; Berkhout (six starts) is 5-1 with a 2.12 GAA and .765 save percentage while Federico (eight starts) is 2-6 with a 3.86 GAA and .658 save percentage. UMass Lowell is averaging 3.21 goals and 13.7 shots per game; in comparison, opponents average 3.00 goals and 17.9 shots per game.

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Katie Audino

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