Weekend Road Games at No. 21 Albany and No. 17 Harvard

NEW HAMPSHIRE FIELD HOCKEY
Friday, Sept. 16 • 1 pm Eastern • Alumni Field
UNH (3-2) at No. 21 Albany (2-3) • Video • Live Stats

Sunday, Sept. 17 • 1 pm Eastern • Harvard Field Hockey Stadium
UNH (3-2) at No. 17 Harvard (2-2) • Video • Live Stats

UNH vs. ALBANY

New Hampshire has an 11-14 lifetime record against the University at Albany and that includes 1-1 on the Great Danes' home field in the past two years.
Last year, the visiting team won both games as Albany prevailed 4-0 at Memorial Field (Sept. 30) and UNH upended the 17^th-ranked Great Danes, 2-1, at Alumni Field (Oct. 16).
- Sept. 30 … Albany 4-0 … Recap … Box
- Oct. 16 … UNH 2-1 … Recap … Box
Kelsey Rudert recorded a career-high nine saves and Ashley Mendonca scored in the 38^th and 69^th minutes to propel the Wildcats to the road win.

UNH vs. HARVARD

New Hampshire has a 23-12-2 lifetime record against Harvard and has won each of the last seven matchups.
UNH was a 3-1 victor in the most recent meeting – Oct. 18, 2015 at Harvard's Jordan Field. Recap • Box
The Wildcats also prevailed in 2014 (1-0 on road), 2013 (3-1 at home), 2011 (4-3 on road), 2010 (3-1 at home), 2009 (5-4, OT, on road) and 2008 (3-2 at home).
Harvard's most recent W vs. UNH was Sept. 5, 2007, when the Crimson won 3-2 in Cambridge.

'CATS SPLIT WEEKEND AT No. 17 IOWA

UNH traveled to the midwest for two games against 17^th-ranked Iowa and returned home with a split against the Hawkeyes. The Wildcats were 3-2 victors in overtime last Friday (Sept. 8) and lost 7-1 on Sunday (Sept. 10).
The 'Cats scored in the 43^rd and 55^th minutes, then ended the game at 3:36 of OT on a goal by Rachel Bossi. Recap • Box

'CAT NIPS

Junior forward Rachel Thomson scored her first collegiate goal when she put New Hampshire on the board, 1-1, at Iowa (9/8).
Junior forward/midfielder Katie Audino scored her third goal of the season to give UNH a 2-1 lead in the 54^th minute against the Hawkeyes (9/8) and notched her third assist of the season in the 7-1 loss against Iowa (9/9).
Junior midfielder Rachel Bossi scored her second goal of the season –third of her career - in overtime to defeat Iowa, 3-2 (9/8). Bossi also scored the OT game winner against Northeastern in the season opener.
Senior forward Taylor Scafidi recorded her first assist of the season in the 3-2 victory on Sept. 8 and scored her second goal of the season – third of her career – on Sept. 9.
Sophomore goalkeeper Madelyn McAteer made a career-high four saves last Sunday at Iowa. She played the final 24:32 of the game and surrendered just one goal.

MARATHON MINUTES

Senior back Jessica Schmidt is the only Wildcat who has played all 357:40 this season.

STAT LEADERS

Katie Audino leads the Wildcats in goals (three), assists (three) and points (nine).
Rachel Bossi and Taylor Scafidi are tied for second in points with five apiece.
Ashley Mendonca is second in assists for the Wildcats with two. She also has the team's only defensive save.
Kelsey Rudert has a 3.05 GAA and .552 save percentage; she did not face a shot on goal in the overtime win against Iowa (9/8).

AT A GLANCE

Through five games, UNH has scored 12 goals (2.40 goals per game) and yielded 15 (3.00 goals per game).
The Wildcats have a 70-56 shot advantage and 22-16 edge in penalty corners.
UNH's 12 goals have been scored by eight players.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

UNH enters the weekend with a 3-2 overall record that includes 1-2 on the road and 1-2 against nationally-ranked teams (all three games vs. nationally-ranked teams have been on the road).
The Wildcats play their first of eight America East conference games Saturday at Albany; UNH was tabbed third in the America East East Division preseason poll and Albany was selected second.
Three of UNH's five games have been decided by one goal, including two overtime wins.
UNH is in the midst of five consecutive games against nationally-ranked opponents. The 'Cats played Iowa (17) twice last week and have Albany (21) and Harvard (17) this weekend. After that, UNH faces No. 12 Stanford.
New Hampshire is averaging 2.40 goals and 14.0 shots per game while yielding 3.00 goals and 11.2 shots per game.
UNH's shot breakdown is relatively even with 34 in the first half and 33 in the second (as well as three in OT).
The Wildcats are 2-0 when scoring the game's first goal and 1-2 when falling behind 1-0.

DEFENDING THE CAGE

Junior Kelsey Rudert and sophomore Madelyn McAteer are the two goalkeepers on the '17 roster.
Rudert started all five games and has played 298:08 of the minutes this season; her stats include a 3.05 GAA and .552 save percentage.
McAteer has appeared in two games this season, playing 59:32; she has a 2.35 GAA and .667 save percentage.

BALDUCCI BIO

This is the 27^th season as UNH head coach for Robin Balducci.
She is the program's all-time winningest coach with 263 career victories, including the 2017 season.
Balducci was inducted into the NFHCA Hall of Fame on Jan. 5, 2017.
She was inducted into UNH's Hall of Fame in 1998 and was also part of the 1985 NCAA national championship women's lacrosse team that was enshrined in 1994.
Balducci is a six-time America East Coach of the Year (1998, 2000-10-11-12-13).

SCOUTING ALBANY

The University at Albany (Albany, N.Y.) enters the weekend with a 2-3 overall record that includes two overtime losses to start the season. The Great Danes are No. 21 in this week's NFHCA poll.
All three of the Great Danes' losses have been on their home turf.
The Great Danes defeated 16^th ranked Boston University, 3-1, on the road (9/8). They then suffered a 2-0 loss at home against No. 5 Syracuse University (9/10).
Katie MacCallum and Frederike Helme are tied for first in goals (three) and points (seven). Dana Bozek and Camryn Dias are leading the team in assists with two each.
Goal Keeper Melissa Nealon has played all 376:27 minutes and has 27 saves for a 1.86 GAA and a .730 save percentage.
The Great Danes are averaging 2.00 goals per game and 8.8 shots per game; they have allowed 2.00 goals per game on 12.2 shots per game.

SCOUTING HARVARD

Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) enters the weekend with a 2-2 record and plays at Northeastern on Sept. 15. The Crimson are No. 17 in this week's NFHCA poll.
The Crimson started off hot with two wins but has since lost to 13^th ranked Stanford University (2-1) and second-ranked UConn (3-1).
Hannah Pearce, Mimi Tarrant, Kathleen Young, and Bente van Vlijmen are all tied for first on the team with four goals and five points. van Vlijmen leads the team with 12 shots and Young is in second with 11.
Ellie Cookson leads the team with two assists.
Goalkeeper Libby Manela has started two games this season with a 0-2 record. She has played 166 minutes and recorded nine saves for a 1.69 GAA and a .692 save percentage.
Goalkeeper Olivia Startup has recorded two wins this season in both her starts. She has played 140 minutes and recorded five saves with a 1.50 GAA and a .625 save percentage.
The Crimson are averaging 2.50 goals on 14.0 shots per game, while allowing 1.58 goals per game.

LOOKING AHEAD

Following this weekend's trip to Albany to begin America East play, and a trip to Harvard, UNH returns home Sept. 22 to play against America East West Division member Stanford University. Start time is 6 p.m.

2017 SEASON ACCOLADES

Freshman forward Bloem van den Brekel was honored as America East Rookie of the Week on Aug. 29 (the first week of the season).

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Katie Audino

Rachel Bossi

Madelyn McAteer

Ashley Mendonca

Kelsey Rudert

Taylor Scafidi

Jessica Schmidt

Rachel Thomson

Bloem van den Brekel

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