Woods' Eight Saves Backbones UNH Past UMass Lowell, 2-1, into AE Semifinals

Thursday, November 3

Orono, Maine

3 PM

University of New Hampshire

(10-9,3-5)

UMass Lowell

(12-7, 6-2)

UNH

UMass Lowell

Woods' Eight Saves Backbones UNH Past UMass Lowell, 2-1, into AE Semifinals

11/3/2022 8:28:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

ORONO, Maine – Senior goalkeeper Jemma Woods (Frimley, England) recorded eight saves and did not allow a goal in the shootout to lift the University of New Hampshire field hockey team to a 2-1 victory against UMass Lowell in Thursday afternoon's America East quarterfinal at UMane FH complex.

UNH, the No. 6 seed of the 2022 America East Championships, advances to play second-seeded UAlbany in a Nov. 4 semifinal; game time is 3 p.m. (at the UMaine FH Complex).

After the score remained tied, 1-1, through 20 minutes of overtime, the game advanced to a best-of-5 shootout. Freshman forward Tasmin Cookman (Woking, England) converted her chance in the bottom of Round 2 to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead, then senior captain Jaiden Wittel (Stroudsburg, Pa.) gave the 'Cats a 2-0 lead in Round 3.

Woods then forced UML's Berbel Rozema wide left, retreated back to the cage and saw a last-second shot bounce well wide of the right post to secure the win and send New Hampshire into the semifinals.

Woods made five of her nine saves in the 20 minutes of overtime and senior captain Molly McAteer (Annapolis, Md.) was credited with a defensive save. Senior Leah Glidden (Kittery, Maine) scored in the 56^th minute to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.

UML goalie Riley Knott, who did not play during the regular season, was credited with three saves and that included one stop in the second OT.

UNH improves to 10-9 overall and third-seeded UMass Lowell's best season as a Division I program ends with a 12-7 record.

"Jemma was just incredible today," UNH head coach Robin Balducci said. "She made big saves near the both of both overtimes and obviously outstanding in the shootout. Overall, we played very solid and had our chances to score in OT."

PHOTO GALLERY

FH stats_11.03.22

FIRST QUARTER

UMass Lowell recorded a 2-0 shot advantage in the opening 15 minutes.
Woods turned aside the only shot on goal when she denied Rozema at 8:25.

SECOND QUARTER

New Hampshire generated offense in the second quarter but UML had the 5-3 edge in shots.
Cookman recorded UNH's first shot of the game in the 26^th minute but her hard shot from the top of the circle sailed over the crossbar.
McAteer kept the game scoreless in the 29^th minute when she was positioned in the middle of the cage and cleared Madison Leeper's shot from the left side off the goal line.

THIRD QUARTER

UMass Lowell had a 3-2 shot advantage but the Wildcats recorded the only shot on goal in the second quarter.
Freshman Nicole Poulakis (Ajax, Ontario) redirected Cookman's entry in the middle of the circle but Knott kicked the ball away with her right leg pad to keep the game scoreless in the 36^th minute.
With 1:10 on the clock, Cookman corralled a high pass on the right wing, split a pair of defenders and struck a rising shot from 12 feet wide of the near post.

FOURTH QUARTER

Shot attempts were even, 2-2, in the final quarter of regulation.
In the 49^th minute, Poulakis sprinted past a defender but Knott came out from the right post to stack the pads and make the save.
Glidden gave UNH a 1-0 lead at 55:05. On a restart deep in the defensive zone, a long hit by junior Lindsay Lee (Eindhoven, Netherlands) was corralled by Poulaks at midfield. She curled around a defender to advance down the middle of the field. She pulled to her left to drag both defenders with her, then slipped a pass to the front of the cage, where Glidden swept a shot into the left side of the cage.
The River Hawks pulled Knott in favor of an extra field player with 3:52 remaining.
UML was awarded a corner with 69 seconds remaining and lined up eight players on the circle. Meike Vischer dribbled in from the top of the circle and dropped a pass back to Rozema, whose shot through traffic tied the game, 1-1, at 59:01.
Neither team recorded a shot the remainder of regulation.

FIRST OVERTIME

UMass Lowell outshot the Wildcats 2-1 in the first 10-minute extra session.
Woods extended the game in the 64^thminute when she denied Kate Miller's drive from the top-left side in a 3-on-2 transition attack.
Cookman fired a shot from the top of the circle that bounced wide right midway through the first overtime.
UML's Mirtha Gans corralled a loose ball on the left side and drove a shot through traffic that Woods directed over the cage with her blocker.

SECOND OVERTIME

UMass Lowell recorded a 6-3 shot advantage, including 3-2 on goal, in the final 10 minutes.
The Wildcats earned a corner with 5:30 on the clock. Cookman received the insert from Wittel, then collected a return pass from twin sister Tamera Cookman (Woking, England) in the middle of the circle and quickly fired a shot that Knott kicked back out for the save.
Poulakis beat the defenders to create a 1v1 opportunity. She maneuvered around Knott to the right but the ball went off Poulakis' stick and rolled barely wide right with 39 seconds remaining.
The River Hawks advanced the ball downfield and Woods made two saves to deny Rozema, including a diving blocker save off the rebound from the initial shot, to send the game into the shootout.

SHOOTOUT

UML shot first in the best-of-5 shootout round and Woods prevented Leeper from attempting a shot in Round 1. Lee's turnaround shot trickled wide of the left post to keep the score 0-0.
In Round 2, Woods charged out to the middle, then retreated back toward the goal line and stopped Vischer's low shot. Tasmin Cookman advanced slowly down the middle before depositing the ball into the right side of the cage to give the 'Cats a 1-0 lead.
Woods made another save in Round 3 against Jenna Berger, then Wittel struck a low reverse-stick inside the left post to give UNH a 2-0 advantage.
UML's Rozema had to convert in Round 4 to extend the game, but the ball rolled off the left when she attempted to deke Woods in the middle of the circle and her last-second shot bounced well wide of the far post.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

UMass Lowell finished with a 20-11 shot advantage that included 10-4 on goal.
The River Hawks also had a 4-1 edge in penalty corners.

UNH NOTEBOOK

New Hampshire advances out of the quarterfinals for the first time since 2017, when the Wildcats went on to the title game.
McAteer, who entered the game ranked No. 5 in the nation and atop the conference leaderboard in defensive saves, now has seven defensive saves this season.
Glidden now ranks third on the team with seven goals.
Poulakis increased her season totals to eight assists and 32 points, both of which rank second on the squad.
Woods entered the game ranked No. 5 in the nation in saves per game and exceeded that 7.12 average with eight against the River Hawks.
UNH improved to 3-1 this season in games decided beyond the 60 minutes of regulation. Two of the last three regular-season games were decided in OT, and that included a 3-2 shootout win vs. UC Davis.

SERIES NOTEBOOK