Game 2 Brings Merrimack to Durham for March 3 Matchup

Merrimack (0-0, 0-0 NEC) at New Hampshire (1-0, 0-0 America East)
Wednesday, March 3 | 2 PM
Memorial Field | Durham, N.H.

WATCH on AE.TV | Live Stats

UNH Field Hockey Home Page
Merrimack Field Hockey Home Page

THE MATCHUP

Wednesday's game will enter the archives as the first matchup between the New Hampshire and Merrimack College field hockey programs.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

UNH has a 1-0 record following last Friday's 3-1 season-opening win against UMass at Memorial Field.
The Wildcats are scheduled to play six of their first seven games at home, and then four of the last five away from Durham.
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.

THREE IN A HURRY

UNH scored three third-quarter goals in 3 minutes, 4 seconds to quickly transform a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead vs. UMass last Friday.
Sophomore Ava Mariani scored off a rebound at 33:00 to ignite the rally and then junior Finn Caron converted another rebound into a goal and 2-1 lead at 35:16.
Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel scored 48 seconds later when she intercepted a clearing attempt on the right side of the circle and fired a reverse-stick into the cage.

A DAY TO REMEMBER

February 26, 2021 is a date to remember for redshirt goalkeeper Nikki Tredwell. She made her collegiate debut with her first collegiate start and also recorded her first career win by backstopping the Wildcats to a 3-1 victory vs. UMass.
Tredwell stopped each of the last five shots on goal to finish with five saves (.833 save percentage).

SHUT DOWN DEFENSE

New Hampshire preserved its 3-1 lead by not allowing a shot attempt or a penalty corner in the fourth quarter to UMass.
UNH yielded totals of seven shots – six on goal – and two penalty corners.

ACTIVE LEADERBOARD

Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel scored a goal in the season opener to increase her career totals to 19 goals and 52 points, both of which are tops among active Wildcats.
Next on those lists is junior Finn Caron, who also tallied a goal in the opener to increase her numbers to 18 goals and 40 points.

HOME SWEET HOME?

New Hampshire defeated UMass, 3-1, in last Friday's season opener at home to end a streak of four consecutive losses at Memorial Field.
In the 2019 season, the Wildcats won their first three home games (against Holy Cross, Stanford and Brown), but then lost the last four (to Monmouth, UMass Lowell, Boston College and Maine).
The three wins all came in a span of a week: Sept. 8, 13 & 15.

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 was 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.
In last Friday's season opener, Allen made a key defensive stop at the 25 when her tackle denied UMass' potential 2-on-1 rush.
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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Players Mentioned

Conner Allen

Megan Borneman

Finn Caron

Isabelle Danahy

Erin Malone

Ava Mariani

Nikki Tredwell

Bloem van den Brekel

Jemma Woods