Homecoming Game vs. No. 12 Stanford (Sept. 22)

NEW HAMPSHIRE FIELD HOCKEY

Friday, Sept. 22 • 6 p.m. • Memorial Field • Durham, N.H.
No. 12 Stanford (5-2) at UNH (3-4)

UNH vs. STANFORD

New Hampshire has a 2-2 lifetime record against Stanford University.
The last time these teams met was Sept. 7, 2014, when the Cardinal – also ranked No. 12 at the time – prevailed 1-0 in overtime on a goal at 74:54.
Stanford recorded an 11-3 shot advantage (7-2 SOG) and the penalty corners were even at 1. • Recap • Box
In 2013, UNH took a 1-0 lead 81 seconds into the game. Stanford tied the score before halftime and scored four unanswered goals for the 5-1 win.
The Wildcats were 6-3 victors at home in 2011 and 3-1 winners in 2002 (at Syracuse University).

NON-CONFERENCE GAME VS. A CONFERENCE TEAM

This is the third year that America East field hockey is split into East and West divisions.
UNH is in the East and Stanford is in the West, but this will not enter the standings as a conference game; only intra-division matchups are conference games.
Also of note, Stanford and Maine – another America East East Division team – will face off at UNH's Memorial Field on Sept. 24 (12 p.m.).

A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEKEND

UNH was outscored by an aggregate score of 7-0 in last weekend's road losses to No. 21 University at Albany and No. 17 Harvard University.
Sophomore goalkeeper Madelyn McAteer (Annapolis, Md.) entered last Saturday's game at Albany with the Wildcats trailing 2-0 at 12:08. She held the Great Danes off the scoresheet the final 22:52 of the first half to keep the 'Cats within striking distance and finished with five saves (two goals allowed).
McAteer made her first career start the next day at Harvard and finished with a career-high six saves. She held the Crimson scoreless in the first half.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire has a 3-4 overall record that includes 1-0 at home and 1-0 in night games, as well as 1-4 against nationally-ranked teams.
In the only previous home game of the 2017 season, UNH defeated Hofstra University, 3-1, on Sept. 3.
In the other night game, the 'Cats upset No. 17 Iowa, 3-2 in OT, on Sept. 8.
Friday night's game vs. 12^th-ranked Stanford will be UNH's fifth consecutive game against a nationally-ranked team.
Friday will mark the first home game of the season vs. a nationally-ranked team.
The Wildcats were previously at No. 16 Boston University (1-0 loss), No. 17 Iowa (3-1 win; 7-1 loss), No. 21 Albany (4-0 loss) and No 17 Harvard (3-0 loss).
UNH is averaging 1.71 goals per game on 12.4 shots and 4.4 penalty corners per game. The opposition averages 3.14 goals, 11.9 shots and 3.9 corners per game.

AT A GLANCE

UNH is 3-0 when scoring at least three goals and is winless when scoring less than two goals.
New Hampshire is 2-0 in overtime games. The Wildcats defeated Northeastern Univeristy, 5-4, in the season opener and also upended Iowa, 3-2. Junior midfielder Rachel Bossi scored the OT game winner both games.
The Wildcats' scoreless stretch is at 176 minutes, 13 seconds. Senior forward Taylor Scafidi last scored for the 'Cats at 33:47 against Iowa on Sept. 10; since then, the opposition has scored 12 goals.
UNH has been outscored 22-12 despite recording a slight edge in both shots (87-83) and penalty corners (31-27).

STAT LEADERS

Junior forward Katie Audino leads the Wildcats in goals (three) and points (nine).
Rachel Bossi and Taylor Scafidi are tied for second in both goals (two) and points (five).
Ashley Mendonca is the other 'Cat with multiple assists – two – and has the team's only defensive save.
Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Rudert returned as the incumbent starter. She was in the starting lineup the first six games of the season and has a 3-3 record with a 3.38 GAA and .516 save percentage.
Sophomore goalie Madelyn McAteer is 0-1 with a 2.61 GAA and .682 save percentage in four games (one start).

MARATHON MINUTES

Senior back Jessica Schmidt is the only Wildcat who has played all 497:40 this season.
Classmate Aggie Sutherland, a midfielder has played 486 minutes.

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 two wins in 2017.
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 STANFORD

The 12^th-ranked Stanford University (Palo Alto, Calif.) field hockey team enters Friday night's game at UNH with a five-game winning streak and 5-2 overall record following Thursday's 4-3 win at UMass Lowell.
Each of the Crimson's first six games of the season was against a nationally-ranked team. Stanford opened the year on the East coast at UConn with a 2-0 loss to the Huskies and 1-0 loss to Northwestern.
Since then, Harvard has defeated Iowa (3-2), UMass (3-1), Harvard (2-1, OT shootout), Pacific (1-0) and UMass Lowell.
In Thursday's win, the Cardinal struck first then transformed a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. UML leveled the score at 3 with 15 minutes remaining, but Marissa Cicione scored with 1:22 on the clock for the 4-3 victory. Stanford dominated the stats with sizable margins in shots (34-7) and corners (11-2).
Stanford is averaging 1.86 goals and 14.1 shots per game while allowing 1.43 goals per game and 13.6 shots per game.
Cicione leads the team in both goals (five) and points (11). Corinne Zanolli has a team-high three assists and is second in both goals (three) and points (nine).
Kelsey Bing has started all seven games and played all but 18:23 of a possible 520:01. She has a 1.26 GAA and .845 save percentage with one shutout.

LOOKING AHEAD

New Hampshire plays just one game this weekend.
The Wildcats resume America East conference play Sept. 29 at home against the University of Vermont. Game time at Memorial Field is 3 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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Players Mentioned

Katie Audino

Rachel Bossi

Madelyn McAteer

Ashley Mendonca

Kelsey Rudert

Taylor Scafidi

Jessica Schmidt

Aggie Sutherland

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