UNH Opens Season Feb. 26 vs. UMass - University of New Hampshire Athletics

UMass (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at New Hampshire (0-0, 0-0 America East)
Friday, February 26 | 1 PM
Memorial Field | Durham, N.H.

THE MATCHUP | CLICK HERE for series history (Sept. 2005 to Oct. 2019)

UNH has a 19-19-2 lifetime record against UMass and that includes a 2-1 road win last season (Oct. 6, 2019).
The Wildcats have won five straight, seven of the last eight meetings and 10 of 13 dating back to the 2001 season.
Six of the last nine matches have been decided in overtime.
UMass' most recent win in this series was 2-1 (OT) at UNH in August 2012.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Led by 30^th-year head coach Robin Balducci, UNH returns seven starters and 14 letterwinners from the 2019 squad that went 8-10 with a pair of wins against nationally-ranked teams and advanced to the America East quarterfinals.
The Wildcats also welcome back a redshirt freshman, have added one transfer and a total of nine freshmen.

FOR OPENERS

UNH has a 25-19-1 overall record in season openers and that includes last year's 4-2 loss at American.
Prior to last season, five consecutive season openers were decided by one goal; UNH were the victors in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 seasons.

THE CAPTAINS

UNH is captained by seniors Isabelle Danahy and Bloem van den Brekel.
Danahy has started 35 of 36 games the past two seasons, including all 18 in the 2019 season. The midfielder/back ranked fourth among field players in minutes played (960 of a possible 1,125) and recorded a total of six points on two goals and two assists.
van den Brekel has already had a highly-decorated career at UNH. She was named to the NFHCA Northeast Region First Team in 2019, one year after making the Second Team. van den Brekel has also been selected to the America East East Division All-Conference Team each of the past two years.
The midfielder tied for the lead in assists (three), tied for third in points (11) and tied for fourth in goals (four) in the 2019 season, when she was also credited with a defensive save.

SCORING TOUCH

Junior forward Finn Caron recorded nine goals and three assists for 21 points to lead the 'Cats in both goals and points in 2019. Caron tied for second on the squad in shots on goal and ranked third in shots. That outstanding sophomore campaign was on the heels of an eight-goal, 17-point performance as a freshman in '18.

DEFENDING THE CAGE

Sophomore Jemma Woods played 1015:13 of a possible 1125:38 (90.2%) with 16 starts in 17 games as a rookie in 2019. She finished with an 8-8 record, 2.25 GAA and .678 save percentage.
Redshirt freshman Nikki Tredwell is the only other goalie on the roster. She did not see any game action in the 2019 season.

THE SENIORS

UNH has five seniors, including the aforementioned captains, on the Spring 2021 roster.
Erin Malone has been an anchor of New Hampshire's defensive unit the past two years. She had nine starts in 12 games as a sophomore in 2018 and increased those numbers to 15 starts in 17 games in 2019. Malone, credited with one defensive save in '19.
Conner Allen is one of the lynchpins at midfield. In her first year as a Wildcat in 2019, Allen played in 16 games with eight starts, including the last five games of the regular season.
Megan Borneman adds depth to the defensive unit. She has played in four games her first three years as a Wildcat.

UNH PICKED FIFTH IN AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL

UNH was voted fifth in the Spring 2021 America East Field Hockey Preseason Poll that was released Feb. 17.
Monmouth topped the poll with 60 points and five first-place votes. Maine (56 points; three first-place votes) was next, followed by a tie for third between Stanford and UAlbany with 46 points.
UNH (32) was followed by Cal (29), UMass Lowell (21), Vermont (18) and UC Davis (16).

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