Season Opens Saturday vs. Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart (0-0) at New Hampshire (0-0)
Saturday, February 10 • Bremner Field • 12 p.m.
Video • Live Stats

Experience Day

Everyone is invited to come watch the UNH Wildcats take the field for the first time in the 2018 season in the Feb. 10 opener at Bremner Field.
Lacrosse players in grades 9-12 are welcome to attend the post-game indoor clinic from 3:30-5:30 p.m.
The clinic, open to all ability levels, will include position-specific skill stations and high-level instruction from college coaches and Division I student-athletes.
Click here to register. Contact assistant coach Kate Gunts for more information.

The Matchup

UNH has a 2-0 lifetime record against Sacred Heart University, but the teams have not met since 2005.
The Wildcats prevailed 15-2 on the road in the first meeting (March 20, 2004), and then again, 21-3, in Durham on March 19, 2005.

The State of New Hampshire

UNH is led by sixth-year head coach Sarah Albrecht as the 'Cats play their 2018 season opener Saturday vs. Sacred Heart.
The Wildcats went 3-14 overall, including 3-3 in America East, and advanced to the conference semifinals last year; 18 letterwinners return from that squad.
New Hampshire's 24-player roster includes senior captain Lizzie Suschana and six newcomers – all freshmen.
The 'Cats were selected fourth in the 2018 America East Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Preseason Poll that was released Feb. 1.
UNH returns two of the top three players in goals, assists and points from the 2017 season.
The top two and 4 of 5 in ground balls also return, as does the leader in both ground balls and caused turnovers (it's the same player – Cat Sennott).

Senior-Laden Squad

Seniors comprise nearly half the roster with 10 Wildcats in that class.

Quadruple Double

Senior midfielder Carly Wooters is the only returning Wildcat who recorded double digits in goals, groundballs, draw controls and caused turnovers last year.
Only one other 'Cat accomplished that feat: Marissa Gurello.
Hope Kissick, who also graduated last May, was the only other UNH player who tallied double figures in GB, DC and CTO.

Season Openers

UNH has a 24-17 all-time record in season openers, including last year's 18-11 home loss to Harvard University.
The home team has won four of the last five season openers with last year being the one exception.
This will be the first time the Wildcats play Sacred Heart in a season opener.
UNH has won two of the last three games in which the season opener was at home – 2016 (14-8 vs. Hofstra University) and 2014 (9-5 vs. Hofstra).

Home Openers

New Hampshire is 2-3 in home openers in the tenure of head coach Sarah Albrecht. The Wildcats upended Hofstra in both 2016 (14-8) and 2014 (9-5). The 'Cats lost home openers in '17 (18-11 to Harvard), '15 (12-7 to UMass) and '13 (18-9 to UMass).
The only previous meeting vs. Sacred Heart in Durham was, in fact, UNH's home opener in 2005 (21-3 win).

On the Attack

Here's the short and tall of it: four attackers are either 5-foot-2/5-3 and the other three are 5-11/6-1.
Senior Krissy Schafer (5-2) is the top returning goal scorer and point producer; she tied for the team lead in goals (30) and tied for second in points (32). Schafer was a highly-accurate shooter with a .791 shots on goal percentage and .448 shooting percentage.
Classmate Teagan Northrup, the tallest Wildcat at 6-1, is the next leading point producer among the seven attackers. She tallied five goals and four assists for nine points.
UNH added a pair of 5-11 attackers – from opposite coasts – in Haley Bridgeman (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and Sabrina Grovom (San Marcos, Calif.).

In the Middle of It All

Senior Carly Wooters leads a group of 10 midfielders. Wooters recorded a team-high nine assists last year and tied for second in points (32); she ranked third in goals (23). In other stats, Wooters was No. 1 in draw controls and shots (100 of the team's 419), and No. 4 in ground balls.
UNH welcomes back senior Devan Miller, who was sidelined by injury the last 12 games of the 2017 season. Miller recorded eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in just five games; those stats ranked third in assists and fifth in points.
Four of UNH's six newcomers will patrol the midfield. They are Tatum Benesh, Elizabeth Blanding, Gabby Masseur and Julia Neyland.

Getting Defensive

Senior captain Lizzie Suschana and classmate Cat Sennott anchor a defensive unit comprised of five Wildcats.
Sennott led last year's squad in both ground balls (34) and caused turnovers (17). She recorded multiple ground balls in 12 of 17 games and was credited with multiple CTOs five times.
Suschana ranked fifth in both ground balls (21) and draw controls.
The other three 'Cats are veterans, but with little game experience. Senior Maddie Maurer, sidelined by injury last year, has played in seven career games. Junior Elise Chandler played in one game each of her first two years, and classmate Jessica Lee has not made her collegiate debut.

Last Line of Defense

Senior goalkeeper Kate Clancy has started all 40 games the past three years and no other goalie saw action in 2017. She recorded double-digit saves five times last year, and that included a personal best of 19 in the opener vs. Harvard. Also of note, Clancy ranked second on the team in ground balls with 30.

Second Generation Wildcat

Freshman Haley Bridgeman is the daughter of alumna Sandy (Vander-Heyden) Bridgeman '87, a two-sport letterwinner (field hockey & lax) and 13-year head coach of the UNH women's lacrosse program (1997-2009).

Scouting Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart University (Fairfield, Conn.) was picked fifth (eight teams) in the NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Pioneers finished 6-11 overall and 4-3 in the league last season.
SHU returns three of its top five scorers from a year ago, but gone is Caitlin Delaney, who led the team in goals, assists, points, ground balls and caused turnovers.
Alyssa Pearce (33-9-42) and Averi Farhat (22-9-31) are the top returning point producers.
Paige Hammick is a third-year starter in goal who played every second in goal last season with a 12.57 GAA and .371 save percentage.

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Players Mentioned

Tatum Benesh

Elizabeth Blanding

Haley Bridgeman

Elise Chandler

Kate Clancy

Sabrina Grovom

Marissa Gurello

Hope Kissick

Jessica Lee

Gabby Masseur

Maddie Maurer

Devan Miller

Julia Neyland

Teagan Northrup

Krissy Schafer

Cat Sennott

Lizzie Suschana

Carly Wooters