Midwest Trip for Two Games vs. No. 17 Iowa (Sept. 8 & 10)

NEW HAMPSHIRE FIELD HOCKEY
Friday, Sept. 8 • 7 pm Eastern • Grant Field
UNH (2-1) at No. 17 Iowa (2-3) • Video • Live Stats

Sunday, Sept. 10 • 1 pm Eastern • Grant Field
UNH at No. 17 Iowa • Video • Live Stats

UNH vs. IOWA

New Hampshire has a 1-11-1 lifetime record against Iowa and that includes 0-4 on the Hawkeyes' home field. In the first seven meetings, six games were decided by one goal and the other final was a 1-1 tie at UNH's Memorial Field in 1985.
UNH and Iowa faced off in the 1986 NCAA national title game and the Hawkeyes won 2-1 in double overtime.
The last time these teams met was in 2004, when Iowa prevailed 5-0 at home.
UNH's only win in the series came in the first meeting in 1980 by a score of 1-0 in Durham.

HOLDING OFF HOFSTRA

UNH dominated in shots (24-3) and penalty corners (7-1) to record a 3-1 victory against Hofstra in the Wildcats' Sept. 3 home opener at Memorial Field.
The 24 shots marked a season high for the Wildcats.
The three shots marked the lowest by a UNH opponent since Oct. 9, 2015 (two by Vermont).

'CAT NIPS

Freshman forward Bloem van den Brekel scored her first collegiate goal when she gave New Hampshire a 1-0 lead vs. Hofstra.
Sophomore forward/midfielder Erin McNamara scored her first goal as a Wildcat to give UNH a 2-0 lead in the 32^nd minute against the Pride.
Sophomore midfielder Kayla Sliz scored her first goal of the season – third of her career – in the closing minutes vs. Hofstra.
Four Wildcats made their collegiate debuts in last Sunday's home opener; they were Megan Borneman (Crofton, Md.), Julia Chase (Belmont, Mass.), Val Fay (West Chester, Pa.) and Erin Malone (Yorktown, Va.)

MARATHON MINUTES

Senior back Jessica Schmidt is the only Wildcat who has played all 214:04 this season.

STAT LEADERS

Katie Audino leads the Wildcats in goals (two) and points (six).
Rachel Boss, Erin McNamara, and Bloem van den Brekel are tied for second in points with three apiece.
Ashley Mendonca and Audino have a team-high two assists.
Kelsey Rudert has a 1.95 GAA and .643 save percentage; she did not face a shot on goal in her 35 minutes of shutout action in the first half vs. Hofstra.

AT A GLANCE

Through three games, UNH has scored eight goals and yielded six with a 4-3 goal advantage in the second half.
The Wildcats have a 54-30 shot advantage and 15-4 edge in penalty corners.
UNH's eight goals have been scored by seven players.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire returns 14 letterwinners, including eight starters, from last year's squad that finished 7-12 overall and 4-4 in America East.
UNH welcomes seven newcomers – one transfer and six freshmen – to the program.
There are three America East conference award winners among the returnees. Gianna Bensaia and Ashley Mendonca – this year's captains – were named to the 2016 East Division All-Conference Team while Kayla Sliz was an All-Rookie Team selection.

POINT PRODUCERS

UNH returns 9 of 10 players who recorded a point last season.
Ashley Mendonca tied for the team lead in points (27) and was second in goals (12).
Gianna Bensaia ranked No. 6 in the nation in assists per game; her 13 assists were the most by a Wildcat since 2010 and tied for fifth on the program's single-season leaderboard.
Katie Audino was second on the team in assists (nine) and fourth in points (11).

D-D-D-D-FEENSE

Seniors Ashley Mendonca and Jessica Schmidt bring a wealth of experience to the backline. Mendonca has been a starter since arriving as a freshman and Schmidt has started since her sophomore year.
Sophomore Nicky Bajus emerged as a force on the defensive end of the field as the 2016 season progressed.

MIDFIELD MAINSTAYS

In addition to Gianna Bensaia and Kayla Sliz, the midfield is patrolled by seniors Aggie Sutherland and Brittany Marshall as well as junior Rachel Bossi.
Sutherland is a fourth-year starter who tallied eight points (2g, 4a) and was credited with a defensive save in 2016.
Marshall started 11 of 16 games played and was voted to the America East All-Academic Team.
Bossi started every game a year ago and tied for third on the team in assists (four)

DEFENDING THE CAGE

Junior Kelsey Rudert and sophomore Madelyn McAteer are the two goalkeepers on the '17 roster.
Rudert started all 19 games and played 98.5% of the minutes last year; her stats included a 2.75 GAA and .631 save percentage.
McAteer saw limited action (20:01), but she had significant minutes this past spring and has followed that with a strong preseason this fall.

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 262 career victories, including the season-opener vs. BU.
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 IOWA

The 17^th-ranked University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa) field hockey team enters the weekend with a 2-3 overall record that includes 0-2 at home.
The Hawkeyes opened the season with the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and they were defeated at Grant Field by Wake Forest (3-2) and North Carolina (3-0).
Iowa spent Labor Day weekend on the west coast, where the team lost to Stanford (3-2) and defeated Cal (3-0) and UC Davis (4-0).
Katie Birch leads the team in goals (five) and points (10). Madeleine Murphy follows close behind with three goals and seven points. Makenna Grewe has a team-best four assists.
Goalkeeper Katie Jones has played all 350 minutes and has 20 saves for a 1.80 GAA and .679 save percentage. She also has two shutouts.
The Hawkeyes are averaging 2.20 goals and 9.8 shots per game; the opposition has scored 1.80 goals on 9.4 shots per game.

LOOKING AHEAD

Following this weekend's trip to the midwest, UNH begins American East play at Albany on Sept. 16. Start time is 1 p.m.
The Wildcats' next home game is Sept. 22 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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Players Mentioned

Katie Audino

Nicky Bajus

Gianna Bensaia

Megan Borneman

Rachel Bossi

Julia Chase

Val Fay

Erin Malone

Brittany Marshall

Madelyn McAteer

Erin McNamara

Ashley Mendonca

Kelsey Rudert

Jessica Schmidt

Kayla Sliz

Aggie Sutherland

Bloem van den Brekel

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