#18 UNH Plays Host to UAlbany on March 19 (AE.tv)

UAlbany (1-1, 0-0 America East) at #18 New Hampshire (3-1, 0-0 AE)
Friday, March 19 | 3 PM
Memorial Field | Durham, N.H.

WATCH on americaeast.tv | Live Stats

UNH Field Hockey Home Page
UAlbany Field Hockey Home Page

FANS NOT ALLOWED AT MEMORIAL FIELD
Members of the general public, including family and friends of student-athletes, are not permitted to attend any UNH Athletics events for the safety of all UNH students, student-athletes, and essential staff working events. No fans are allowed at Memorial Field. Please review the UNH Athletics COVID-19 Spectator Policy

WILDCATS RANKED IN FIRST NATIONAL POLL OF SEASON

New Hampshire entered the inaugural Penn-Monto NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll of the season (that was released this past Tuesday) at No. 18.
The Wildcats are the only America East team in the top-20 poll.

POST AND WOODS RECEIVE AMERICA EAST WEEKLY AWARDS

Sophomore goalkeeper Jemma Woods and freshman back Rosalie Post were honored by America East as Defensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week, respectively, on Tuesday.
Woods made a career-high 10 saves at Boston College (March 12) and followed that with her first career shutout in UNH's 3-0 win against Northeastern (March 14). She went 1-1 on the week with a 1.00 GAA and .846 save percentage.
Post scored her first career goal to give UNH a 1-0 lead against Northeastern and it proved to be the game-winning goal. She finished with a game-high four shots (two on goal) in 55 minutes. And as part of UNH's defensive unit, Post helped limit NU to three shots (one on goal) and two corners.

THE MATCHUP | CLICK HERE for series history, boxes & recaps (Oct. 2005 – now)

Friday's game will be the America East conference opener for both teams.
UNH has a 14-17 lifetime record against UAlbany.
In the most recent matchup (Oct. 11, 2019 at Alumni Turf), the Wildcats were 4-3 victors in double overtime against the 21^st-ranked Great Danes.
Ava Mariani scored two goals, including the game-winner with 2:30 remaining in the second extra session, Bloem van den Brekel tallied a goal and an assist and Jemma Woods made nine saves.
UNH has won two straight and three of the last four meetings. All four were decided by one goal with three going beyond regulation.
Prior to the 1-0 home win in 2018, UAlbany had won four straight matchups in Durham.
UAlbany has a 6-4 edge the past 10 games.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

UNH is 3-0 at home and has a 3-1 overall record following last Sunday's 3-0 win against Northeastern University.
Two of the wins have been by shutout; New Hampshire defeated Merrimack, 6-0, on March 3.
The Wildcats also had a 3-1 record through four games in the 2017 season.
New Hampshire also won its first three home games of the season in '19; the last time the 'Cats won the first four home games of a season was in '15.
UNH is 1-1 against teams ranked in this week's NFHCA national poll; the Wildcats defeated #19 UMass (3-1 score) and lost to #15 BC (2-0 score).
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.
Eight 'Cats have started every game this season, and that includes freshman Lindsay Lee.

THE NUMBERS GAME

New Hampshire has outscored the opposition 12-3, but the opponents have a 20-15 edge in penalty corners; BC accounts for 14 of those corners.
The Wildcats are averaging 3.0 goals, 12.8 shots and 3.75 penalty corners per game. In comparison, opponents have averaged 0.75 goals, 9.8 shots and 5.0 corners per game.
UNH has scored 12 goals on 51 shots for a .235 shooting percentage; the opponents are 3-for-39 (.077 shooting percentage).
The Wildcats have outscored the opposition 8-1 in the final three quarters with an aggregate 34-25 shot advantage in that span.

STINGY DEFENSE

In three wins, UNH has allowed totals of one goal and 13 shots; that includes two shutouts and two games in which the Wildcats have limited the opponent to three shots.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED

UNH went 1-1 last weekend with a 2-0 loss at 15^th-ranked Boston College (Friday, March 12) followed by a 3-0 home win vs. Northeastern (Sunday, March 14).
Sophomore goalie Jemma Woods recorded a career-high 10 saves at BC and followed that with her first career shutout with one save vs. NU.
Junior Tori Palumbo and freshman Rosalie Post both scored their first career goal. Post's goal came on a penalty stroke in the sixth minute and Palumbo struck in the 55^th minute to give the 'Cats a 3-0 lead.
Senior Conner Allen recorded her first point as a Wildcat with an assist on Palumbo's goal.
Junior Tia Raspante scored her first goal of the season last Sunday vs. Northeastern.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT

Junior Finn Caron leads UNH in both goals (four) and points (eight). She has scored her four goals on eight shots for a .500 shooting percentage. Caron matched her personal bests in both goals (three) and points (six) vs. Merrimack on March 3.
Sophomore Ava Mariani ranks second in goals (three) and points (six). Mariani has scored her three goals on six shots. She scored two goals against Merrimack to match her career highs in both goals and points (four).
Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel has one goal and one assist for three points, as does junior Tori Palumbo.

ACTIVE LEADERBOARD

Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel has career totals of 19 goals and 15 assists for 53 points in 58 games. She is UNH's active leader in assists and points.
Junior Finn Caron is the active leader in career goals with 21, and her 46 points rank second to van den Brekel.
Senior captain Isabelle Danahy leads all current 'Cats with 61 games played.

DEFENDING THE CAGE

Sophomore Jemma Woods has started each of the last three games and redshirt freshman Nikki Tredwell saw action in the first two games of the season.
The duo combined to shut out Merrimack College on March 3 and has combined to record a 0.75 GAA and .842 save percentage.
Woods has a 2-1 record with a 0.80 GAA and .846 save percentage. She recorded her first career shutout last Sunday (against Northeastern) and made a career-high 10 saves last Friday at Boston College.
In the 2019 season as a rookie, Woods played 1015:13 of a possible 1125:38 (90.2%) with 16 starts in 17 games. She finished with an 8-8 record, 2.25 GAA and .678 save percentage.
Tredwell is 1-0 with a 0.67 GAA and .833 save percentage in 90 minutes. She made her collegiate debut by starting against UMass, and she stopped 5 of 6 shots to record her first career win in UNH's 3-1 victory on Feb. 26.
Tredwell played the second half of the Merrimack game and did not face a shot on goal in 30 minutes.

SHARED SHUTOUTS

Sophomore Jemma Woods and redshirt freshman Nikki Tredwell both played a half to combine for a shutout in UNH's 6-0 victory against Merrimack College on March 3.
Woods played the first half and earned the win despite not having to make a save. Tredwell did not face a shot on goal in the second half.
Prior to that, UNH's most recent shutout was also a shared shutout in a 4-0 win vs. Bryant University on Sept. 27, 2019. Woods made three saves in 57:59 of action and Rachel Simkevich was not credited with a save the final 2:01.

2-and-0 … to 3-1

With a 2-0 record, the Wildcats started a season with back-to-back wins for the first time in a decade. The 2011 team reeled off eight consecutive wins, won the conference tournament title to advance to the NCAAs and finished with a 17-5 overall record (5-1 America East).
UNH improved to 3-1 with last Sunday's win vs. Northeastern; the previous time the Wildcats had three wins through four games was the 2017 season.
The last time the Wildcats started 4-1 (or better) was the aforementioned 2011 squad.

THREE IN A HURRY

New Hampshire scored four goals in the second quarter of the March 3 game vs. Merrimack, three of which were scored in a span of 3 minutes, 56 seconds. Sophomore Ava Mariani ignited the spurt just 28 seconds into the second quarter, followed by consecutive goals by junior Finn Caron at 17:08 and 19:24 to extend UNH's lead to 5-0.
In the Feb. 26 season opener vs. UMass, the Wildcats scored three third-quarter goals in 3 minutes, 4 seconds to quickly transform a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 lead.
Mariani scored off a rebound at 33:00 to ignite the rally and then 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).

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.

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.
Malone did not play in the 2021 opener but has started each of the past three games and played the full 60 both games last weekend against Boston College and Northeastern.
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.
Allen recorded her first point as a 'Cat with an assist in the March 14 win against Northeastern.
In the Feb. 26 season opener, Allen made a key defensive stop at the 25 when her tackle denied UMass' potential 2-on-1 rush.
She has started every game and played 230 of a possible 240 minutes.
Megan Borneman adds depth to the defensive unit. She played in four games her first three years as a Wildcat. She made her spring 2021 debut in the game vs. Merrimack and also saw action vs. Northeastern.

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).

FOLLOW THE UNH FIELD HOCKEY TEAM
Twitter: @unhfieldhockey          Twitter: @UNHWildcats
Instagram: @unhfieldhockey       Instagram: @UNHWildcats
Facebook: @UNHFieldHockey Facebook: UNH Wildcats
Get UNH Field Hockey Emails                    Get UNH Athletics Emails

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Conner Allen

Megan Borneman

Finn Caron

Isabelle Danahy

Lindsay Lee

Erin Malone

Ava Mariani

Tori Palumbo

Rosalie Post

Tia Raspante

Nikki Tredwell

Bloem van den Brekel

Jemma Woods

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

University of New Hampshire Athletics