Regular Season Concludes at Maine (Oct. 28), Home vs. Dartmouth (Oct. 30)

UNH (6-10, 4-3 America East) at Maine (11-6, 4-2 America East)
Friday, Oct. 28 • 3 pm • UMaine Field Hockey Complex (Orono, Maine)
Video • Live Stats

Dartmouth (4-10, 0-5 Ivy) at UNH (6-10, 4-3 America East)
Sunday, Oct. 30 • 2 pm • Memorial Field (Durham, N.H.)
Video • Live Stats

UNH vs. Maine

New Hampshire has a 27-14 lifetime record against the University of Maine but the Black Bears have won each of the past three meetings, including a 3-2 overtime win at Memorial Field earlier this month.
UNH won seven consecutive matchups, including two in the postseason, spanning the 2010-14 seasons. The Black Bears ended that streak by sweeping last year's regular-season series with a 4-1 home win and 3-2 win at UNH's Memorial Field.
Five of the last seven meetings have been decided by one goal, including three in overtime.
These programs first met back in 1982 and the 'Cats won the first 13 games in the series; that means the series has been level (14-14) since 1995).
On a very rainy and windy Oct. 9 at Memorial Field, the visiting Black Bears built an early 2-0 lead on goals by Danielle Aviani (3^rd minute) and Samantha Wagg (16^th minute).
UNH trimmed the deficit to 2-1 just 17 seconds before halftime on a penalty corner direct-shot by Jessica Schmidt. The Wildcats trailed by that one-goal margin at halftime despite recorded the edge in shots (9-5) and corners (6-1).
Schmidt struck again on another direct shot on a penalty corner with 1:57 remaining in regulation to tie the score.
Attacking the far less waterlogged side of the turf, Maine scored on the first shot of OT to end the game on Casey Crowley's goal at 72:27.
UNH finished with the advantage in shots (18-12) and corners (14-3).

UNH vs. Dartmouth

New Hampshire has a 21-18-2 lifetime record against Dartmouth College and that includes last year's 4-2 road loss. The 'Cats prevailed 4-1 in the most recent home game in November 2014.
UNH has a 9-8-2 home record vs. the Big Green, who last won in Durham in 2010 (4-3). DC has won five of the last six games at UNH (since 2002).
Prior to the 2015 season, the Wildcats had won four consecutive matchups spanning 2011-14; the most recent win was 4-1 at home in November 2014.
Six of the past 10 meetings have been decided by one goal.
This series dates back to a 1-1 tie in 1975. Since then, these intrastate rivals have met every year with one exception – 1990.
In last year's game, the teams played to a 1-1 tie in the first half. DC regained the lead, 2-1, in the 39^th minute and extended the advantage to two goals in the 55^th minutes. The 'Cats closed within 3-2 in the 64^th minute, but the Big Green secured the victory on another goal with 1:57 remaining. Dartmouth recorded the edge in shots (17-16) while UNH generated more corners (6-5).

Vote Now! Vote Tomorrow! And the Day After That Too!

Voting for the America East Fans' Choice Player of the Year is open now through Tuesday, Nov. 1 at noon (Eastern).
You can vote for Ashley Mendonca once per day at www.aefanschoice.com
Mendonca leads the team in both goals and points. She ranks sixth in America East in shots and goals per game, as well 10^th in points per game. Mendonca is also one of the conference leaders in defensive saves.

Senior Day

The UNH field hockey program will pay tribute to its two seniors – Jackie Hozza and Lindsey Nerbonne – prior to its last home game of the season Oct. 30 vs. Dartmouth College.
Hozza has been a three-year starter in the backfield and instrumental part of the defensive penalty corner unit. She was also an integral cog of the offensive penalty corner unit in '14 and '15.
Nerbonne is one of the top goal scorers in UNH history. She ranked second on the team in goals as a sophomore (her first year as a 'Cat), was atop the leaderboard as a junior and is No. 2 this year. She has a total of 34 career goals, which ranks ninth on the program's all-time list.

State of New Hampshire

UNH, led by 26^th-year head coach Robin Balducci, has a 6-10 overall record that includes 2-6 on the road and 4-4 at home, as well as and 4-3 in America East; in conference play, the Wildcats are 2-1 on the road and 2-2 at home.
New Hampshire takes a three-game win streak to Maine. It is the longest win streak since late October 2014. This year's streak began with a 2-1 win at 17^th-ranked Albany on Oct. 16. Last weekend, the 'Cats upended Vermont (3-1) and UMass Lowell (2-1), both at home.
UNH is averaging 1.81 goals, 16.8 shots and 7.7 corners per game while surrendering 2.56 goals, 13.3 shots and 4.7 corners per game.

Developing the Playoff Picture

New Hampshire secured a berth in the America East Championship tournament with last Friday's 3-1 win vs. Vermont.
The Wildcats can still finish as high as No. 2 in the East division. A win at Maine would give the 'Cats a 5-3 conference record and move the Black Bears to 4-3 (with a game remaining at Vermont).
UNH will be the East No. 3 seed with a loss at Maine.

Giving Assistance

Gianna Bensaia has a team-high 13 assists and is tied at No. 5 on the program's list of single-season superlatives with Hayley Rausch (2010) and Cyndi Caldwell (1986).
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 No. 9 on the program's career goals leaderboard for goals with 34. Ahead of that trio is Rebecca Provost (1991-94), who scored 40 career goals.

Close Calls

Five of the last six games have been decided by one goals. UNH is 2-3 in those games and the Wildcats have a 4-5 record in one-goal games, including 2-1 in overtime, this season.

Cornering Skills:

UNH has scored 10 goals the past five games, and nine of them have been a result of penalty corners, including six on direct shots.

Streaking

Gianna Bensaia carries a five-game point streak into Friday's game at Maine; the point streak began with an assist in four consecutive games. She has one goal – her only goal of the season – and six assists for eight points since Oct. 9.
Ashley Mendonca has recorded a point each of the last four games; the point streak began with an assist in three consecutive games. She has four goals and two assists for 10 points since Oct. 14.
Katie Audio recorded a four-game assist streak from Oct. 7-21; the streak ended last Sunday vs. UMass Lowell.

The Leaderboard

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 (nine) and points (19) with a team-leading 66 shots.
Gianna Bensaia is atop the assist leaderboard with 13, followed by Katie Audino (seven).

Defending the Cage

Kelsey Rudert has played 98.9% of the minutes in goal this season and is 6-10 with a 2.56 GAA and .640 save percentage.
She has been honored as America East Defender of the Week twice this season.
During the the three-game win streak, Rudert has allowed one goal each game to lower her GAA from 2.92 to 2.56.

Scouting the Black Bears

The University of Maine (Orono, Maine) is 11-6 overall with a 4-2 conference record; the Black Bears are 6-3 at home and that includes 2-1 in conference home games.
Maine is coming off of last Friday's 2-0 home loss against the top team in America East East Division, University of Albany.
They are led by a dual threat of junior forward Madison Cummings and sophomore midfielder Casey Crowley. Cummings leads the team in goals (11), while Crowley leads the team in points (26). Crowley's 26 points and Cummings' 11 goals both land them at No. 5 in their respective categories in America East.
Emma Cochran and Emily Corbett split the goalkeeping duties. Cochran (17 gp/9 gs) is 6-3 with a 1.69 GAA and .644 save percentage. Corbett (15gp/8gs) is 5-3 with a 1.99 GAA and .375 save percentage.

Scouting the Big Green

Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.) is 4-10 overall with marks of 0-5 in the Ivy League and 1-6 on the road. DC plays host to Harvard on Saturday before traveling across the Granite State to play UNH on Sunday.
The Big Green ended a seven-game losing streak Wednesday with a 2-1 win against Holy Cross. During that streak, they were outscored 33-10.
Dartmouth has a 1-3 record against America East conference teams with a win vs. Vermont and losses to Albany, Maine and Pacific.
DC is averaging 1.79 goals and 12.3 shots per game while allowing 3.71 goals and 24.9 shots per game.
Freshman forward Carmen Braceras has team highs of seven goals and 15 points. Morgan Philie (5g) and Evie Bird (3g, 4a) have also reached double digits in points.

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