UNH Defeats Stanford and Secures AE Tourney Berth

Friday, October 29

Durham, N.H.

3 PM

University of New Hampshire

(7-10, 3-4AE)

Stanford

(3-8, 2-5AE)

Stanford

New Hampshire

10/29/2021 6:39:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Seniors Finn Caron (Hampton, NH.) and Tia Raspante (Sandwich, Mass.) both scored in the first half to launch the University of New Hampshire field hockey team to Friday afternoon's 3-1 victory against Stanford at Memorial Field.

UNH extended its winning streak to four games to improve to 7-10 overall and 3-4 in America East, and clinch a spot in the America East tournament. Stanford, which entered the game tied with the Wildcats in the conference standings, falls to 3-8, 2-5 on the season.

Raspante finished the game with a goal and an assist, while sophomore Lindsay Lee (Eindhoven, Netherlands) had two assists. Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel (Eindhoven, Netherlands) scored UNH's other goal.

Junior goalkeeper Jemma Woods (Frimley, England) made five saves, including three in the second quarter.

Stanford's only goal was scored by Molly Redgrove. Goalkeeper Cara Sambeth was not credited with a save and allowed two goals. The Cardinal pulled Sambeth in favor of an extra field player with 6:22 remaining and UNH's final goal was into the empty cage.

PHOTO GALLERY
FH clinched AE tourney berth 2021

LOOKING AHEAD

UNH ends the regular season Oct. 31 at home with a Border Battle against the University of Maine. Start time at Memorial Field is 1 p.m.

FIRST QUARTER

New Hampshire took a 1-0 lead on the first shot of the game at 3:14. Caron corralled Raspante's centering pass in the middle of the circle and fired a low shot into the center of the cage.
That proved to be the only shot of the opening 15 minutes for UNH.
Stanford recorded three shots, the first two of which were blocked by Wildcat defenders.
Woods made the first save of the game when she denied Lynn Vanderstichele at 13:43.

SECOND QUARTER

Stanford pressured in the 20^th minute, but Woods stopped Megan Frost's initial shot from the right side as well as Vanderstichele's rebound attempt at the left doorstep.
Redgrove leveled the score, 1-1, at 19:32 when the Cardinal converted a corner. From the top of the circle, Frost swung the ball to the left side for Redgrove.
UNH responded with a goal a little more than two minutes later to retake the lead, 2-1, at 21:50. Lee dribbled into the top-right of the circle, turned and slipped a pass forward while falling down. Raspante controlled the ball and chipped a shot into the bottom-left corner.
The visitors pressured in the closing minute, but Woods once again turned aside Vanderstichele to preserve UNH's one-goal advantage heading into halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

Neither team recorded a shot nor a corner in the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

Woods was tested again in the 49^th minute but stopped Haley Mossmer's shot.
From the top of the circle, Caron sent a low, hard shot well wide of the right post in the 50^th minute.
Stanford pulled Sambeth with 6:22 remaining. The Cardinal kept UNH hemmed in its defensive end, but the Wildcats' defense stood strong and denied the visitors entry into the circle.
New Hampshire was awarded its first penalty corner of the game and converted into a goal for a 3-1 lead at 58:18. Lee inserted the pass to the top of the circle, where senior captain Isabelle Danahy (Chelmsford, Mass.) stopped the ball and van den Brekel lifted a shot past Stanford's charging defenders inside the right post.
Sambeth remained on the bench for the extra field player, but UNH kept Stanford at bay the rest of the way to secure the win and playoff berth.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Stanford finished with an 8-4 shot advantage, including 6-3 on goal, and a 4-1 edge in penalty corners.
Vanderstichele led all players with three shots (all on goal).
Caron had a team-high two shots for the Wildcats.

UNH NOTEBOOK

Raspante recorded her first career assist and finished with a personal best of three points.
She has scored a goal in back-to-back games.
Lee matched her personal best of two assists to extend both her assist and point streaks to four games. She has one goal and six assists for eight points the past four games.
Lee now has a team-high nine assists and ranks second in points with 17.
van den Brekel extended her goal and point streaks to four games. She has five goals and an assist for 11 points during UNH's win streak.

SERIES NOTEBOOK