Season Finale vs. Cal on April 17 (at Vermont; AE.TV)

Cal (3-6, 2-4 America East) vs. New Hampshire (4-7, 1-6 America East)
Saturday, April 17 | 3 PM
Moulton Winder Field | Burlington, Vt.

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THE MATCHUP | CLICK HERE for series history, boxes & recaps (Sept. 2006 – now)

UNH has a 4-3 lifetime record against Cal. Six of the seven meetings have been at neutral sites.
Each of the previous two matchups has been in the America East quarterfinals; the Golden Bears won 2-1 in 2019 (at Monmouth) but UNH prevailed 3-2 in overtime in 2017 (at UMass Lowell).
Prior to 2017, these programs had not met since September 2006, when Cal won 6-1 on its home turf.
These programs first met in the 1980 AIAW national tournament with the Golden Bears recording a 2-0 win (at Southern Illinois).
UNH was a 1-0 victor in October 1986 (at Northeastern).
The Wildcats also prevailed in 1997 (2-1) and 1998 (1-0); both of those matchups were at UMass.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

UNH has a 4-7 overall record that includes 1-6 in America East.
Saturday's game vs. Cal will be UNH's first neutral-site game of the season; the Wildcats are 0-4 away from Durham.
New Hampshire has an 0-1 record on Saturday; the only previous Saturday game was also played at UVM's Moulton Winder Field (UNH lost 3-1 to the Catamounts).
The Wildcats have lost five straight and have been outscored 16-4 in that span.
UNH's most recent win was March 21 vs. UC Davis by a score of 2-0.
Last weekend, the 'Cats lost 1-0 in overtime at UMass Lowell and 5-1 at home to Monmouth; that marked UNH's first OT game of the season.
Seven of UNH's 11 games have ended with a shutout; the Wildcats have blanked three opponents and been shut out four times.
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.

THE STARTING LINEUP

Four 'Cats have started every game this season; they are senior captains Isabelle Danahy and Bloem van den Brekel, senior Conner Allen and freshman Lindsay Lee.
Senior Erin Malone and sophomore goalkeeper Jemma Woods have 10 consecutive starts following a DNP in the season opener.
Freshman Rosalie Post has started nine consecutive games after DNPs in the first two games.
Juniors Finn Caron and Tori Palumbo, as well as sophomore Ava Mariani, have 10 starts in 10 games played.

THE NUMBERS GAME

New Hampshire has been outscored 20-18 by the opponents, who have recorded a 132-98 shot advantage and 42-38 edge in shots.
The Wildcats are averaging 1.64 goals, 8.9 shots and 3.5 penalty corners per game. In comparison, opponents have averaged 1.82 goals, 12.0 shots and 3.8 corners per game.
UNH has scored 18 goals on 98 shots for a .184 shooting percentage; the opponents are 20-for-132 (.152 shooting percentage).

STAT BREAKDOWN

In four wins, UNH has allowed totals of one goal and 19 shots; that includes three shutouts as well as two games in which the Wildcats have limited the opponent to three shots.
New Hampshire did not yield a penalty corner in consecutive games against UAlbany and UC Davis.
In the seven losses, the Wildcats have been outscored 19-4 and outshot 113-48.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED | Box Score | Recap | Video Highlights

UNH closed within 3-1 on a goal by Emily Eckels in the 38^th minute, but Monmouth went on to record a 5-1 victory last Sunday (April 11) at Memorial Field.
Sophomore goalie Jemma Woods recorded six saves and allowed five goals before exiting the game with 5:04 remaining. Redshirt freshman Nikki Tredwell did not face a shot on goal the rest of the way.
Monmouth, which scored 30 seconds into the game, finished with a 13-3 shot advantage and 7-1 edge in corners.

'CAT NIPS

New Hampshire honored its five seniors – Conner Allen, Megan Borneman, captain Isabelle Danahy, Erin Malone and Bloem van den Brekel -- in a pre-game ceremony last Sunday.
Borneman made her first career start and played 54 minutes in her last game at Memorial Field.
Allen and Malone both played the full 60 minutes in their last home game.
Both Danahy and van den Brekel were on the field for 58 minutes.
Sophomore Emily Eckels made her first career start and scored her second goal of the season.
Freshmen Gigi Fay and Mari Shea also made their first career starts.
Classmate Reagan Calcari was the only field substitute.

OFFENSIVE OUTPUT

Sophomore Ava Mariani leads UNH in both goals (six) and points (12), as well as shooting percentage with six goals on 13 shots (that's a .462 shooting percentage).
Mariani tied her career highs in both goals (two) and points (four) against both Merrimack and Maine this season.
Junior Finn Caron ranks second in both goals (four) and points (eight). She has a team-high 20 shots. Caron matched her career highs in both goals (three) and points (six) against Merrimack on March 3.
Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel has two goal and two assists for six points. van den Brekel ranks second on the team with 18 shots.
Freshman Lindsay Lee has a team-high three assists. Lee recorded two assists in UNH's 2-0 win vs. UC Davis (March 21) and tallied a helper last Sunday vs. Monmouth.

ACTIVE LEADERBOARD

Senior captain Bloem van den Brekel has career totals of 20 goals and 16 assists for 56 points in 65 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 68 games played.

DEFENDING THE CAGE

Sophomore Jemma Woods has started each of the last 10 games – she did not start the season opener -- and redshirt freshman Nikki Tredwell has seen action in four games.
The duo combined to shut out Merrimack College on March 3 and has combined to record a 1.81 GAA and .773 save percentage.
Woods has a 3-7 record with a 1.92 GAA, .775 save percentage (62 saves; 18 goals against) and two shutouts. She has play 562 of 664 minutes (84.7%).
Woods has recorded double-digit saves three times this season with a career high of 11 at Maine (March 28; 4-2 loss). She finished with 10 saves both at Boston College (March 12; 2-0 loss) and at Vermont (April 3; 3-1 loss).
She recorded her first career shutout March 14 against Northeastern; two days earlier, she tallied double-digit saves for the first time in her career with 10 at Boston College.
Woods recorded her second shutout with a five-save effort in a 2-0 win vs. UC Davis on March 21.
Tredwell is 1-0 with a 1.18 GAA and .750 save percentage in 102 minutes, 5 seconds (four games played). 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.
She played the final 5:04 against Monmouth last Sunday (did not face a shot on goal) and also had a 7:01 relief stint in the second quarter at Maine (March 28).
The Wildcats have one defensive save this season, and that was credited to freshman Rosalie Post in the UC Davis game.

THE CAPTAINS

UNH is captained by seniors Isabelle Danahy and Bloem van den Brekel.
Danahy started 35 of 36 games the previous 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.
This season, Danahy has started every game and played 562 of a possible 664 minutes. She has one point with an assist at Vermont (April 3).
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.
In the 2019 season, the midfielder tied for the lead in assists (three), tied for third in points (11) and tied for fourth in goals (four); she was also credited with a defensive save.
This season, van den Brekel has started every game and ranks second on the squad in minutes played with 627 (of a possible 664). She ranks third in points (six) and second in assists (two); she also has two goals.

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 three 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 10 games and played 60 minutes each of the past nine games; she has been on the field 593 of 604 minutes.
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.
She leads all Wildcats in minutes played with 650 of a possible 664.
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, and she has continued to make impactful defensive plays.
Megan Borneman adds depth to the defensive unit. She played in four games her first three years as a Wildcat. Borneman made her first career start on Senior Day and played 54 minutes. She made her spring 2021 debut in the game vs. Merrimack and also saw action vs. Northeastern and Stanford.

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. Ava Mariani ignited the spurt just 28 seconds into the second quarter, followed by consecutive goals by 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.
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.

NEW HAMPSHIRE RECEIVES NFHCA NATIONAL ACADEMIC TEAM AWARD

UNH earned a 2020 NFHCA Division I National Academic Team Award, which honors programs that earned a team GPA of 3.0 or higher in the Fall 2020 semester.

THREE WILDCATS NAMED NFHCA SCHOLARS OF DISTINCTION

Senior Conner Allen and freshmen Reagan Calcari and Olivia Watson were named NFHCA Scholars of Distinction on March 25. Allen has received this honor all four years.
Student-athletes with a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.9 or higher through the first semester of the 2020-21 academic year earn this accolade.

ELEVEN 'CATS NAMED TO NATIONAL ACADEMIC SQUAD

A total of 11 UNH field hockey players were named to the 2020 National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division I National Academic Squad.
The National Academic Squad program honors student-athletes who have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher through the first semester of the 2020-21 academic year.
Conner Allen and Erin Malone have been named to the National Academic Squad all four years.
Isabelle Danahy and Tori Palumbo were feted for the third consecutive year.
Reagan Calcari, Gigi Fay, Lindsay Lee, Molly McAteer, Nikki Tredwell, Olivia Watson and Jemma Woods were all first-time honorees.

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 March 16) at No. 18.
The Wildcats were the only America East team in that top-20 poll.
At #16, Stanford is the only conference team ranked in this week's NFHCA poll (April 4).

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

Reagan Calcari

Finn Caron

Isabelle Danahy

Emily Eckels

Gigi Fay

Lindsay Lee

Erin Malone

Ava Mariani

Molly McAteer

Tori Palumbo

Rosalie Post

Mari Shea

Nikki Tredwell

Bloem van den Brekel

Olivia Watson

Jemma Woods

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